For those who, for some strange reason, only watch international rugby much has changed since England last took the field in mid-July. Technically speaking, for starters, the home team no longer play at a ground called Twickenham and will instead run out at somewhere called Allianz Stadium. The era of the “Ally Pally” has arrived, which may or may not impress the old-school clientele in the posher parts of the West Car Park.
If there is a sense of the Rugby Football Union selling off the family silver and jettisoning a significant slice of the English game’s global identity it is reinforced by the fact the All Blacks are due to visit a second Allianz Stadium in three weeks’ time when they play Italy in Turin. The only consolation for staunch traditionalists is that fresh monikers can take decades to catch on; some people still refer to the “Manchester Guardian” a mere 65 years on.
When England fans do finally complete their trek to east Whitton, either way, they will be confronted with several other unfamiliar initiatives. Gone, for example, is the notion of a red card automatically reducing a team to 14 players for the rest of the game. Instead players guilty of, say, a reckless but unintentional high tackle this autumn can be replaced by a teammate after 20 minutes, a trial initiative designed to soften the impact of some of the marginal reds that influenced some big games last season.
Unsurprisingly this has not thrilled the player welfare lobby and risks confusing casual fans even more. How much easier it would be to show an orange card for such offences; for now, the sanction of a 20-minute red will have to go through the usual TMO protocols before the precise outcome can be clarified. Add in shot clocks for scrums, lineouts and kicks at goal and there is a serious amount of pedantry in store.
And don’t even start on the subject of the haka, which has again been propelled into the pre-game spotlight courtesy of Joe Marler’s social media feed. Anyone with a scintilla of knowledge of Māori culture knows it is primarily based around respect, as well as issuing a traditional challenge to opposing teams. The only problem is that the versions performed by the All Blacks have become so choreographed and photogenically corporate that the whole thing is in danger of losing its spiritual, spine- tingling essence.
So regardless of how England respond – and the players have been discussing doing something – it will be a relief when the actual rugby kicks off. Amid all the talk of hybrid contracts, backroom coaching upheaval, injuries and playing Tests in Qatar, it would be sad if it causes people to overlook the reasons why big old days like this still resonate and stir the soul.
Partly, of course, it is about the heritage that the RFU, cash-strapped or otherwise, tinkers with at its peril. New Zealand have been coming to this corner of south-west London for almost exactly 100 years and, overall, have lost just eight of their 45 Tests against England. It is, accordingly, still a sizeable deal when they hit town in a way it might not be at some neutral venue in the Gulf.
And for all the talk of England’s gradual improvements, near misses cease to count after a while. The 2-0 summer series defeat in New Zealand was the latest example: the visitors had some bright attacking moments but could not quite get it done in either Dunedin or Auckland. Harking back to the 25-25 draw when the All Blacks last visited Twickenham in 2022 also ignores the fact England were 25-6 down with 10 minutes left before Beauden Barrett’s visit to the sin- bin threw them a lifeline.
The solution for Saturday’s match sounds straightforward enough: finish stronger, kick a couple more goals, happy days. Unfortunately Test rugby is not that simple. England have lost four of their last five Tests and their bench has not always had the impact Steve Borthwick would have wanted. A 6-2 forward split this time underlines their renewed determination to heap prolonged pressure on an All Blacks side who have been having a mixed year themselves.
The key area, as ever, will be at the breakdown where England want to hit hard and low and get their body positioning just so. Quick ball is everything, particularly with the backs that England now have. Watch out for the support running and awareness of George Furbank, an increasingly vital cog at full-back, and keep an eye, too, on Ben Spencer, making his first start at scrum-half. If he goes well and helps England play in the right areas, it could be a humdinger of a game.
Then again, writing off New Zealand is never clever. Don’t be fooled by Scott Robertson’s surfer-blond hair and friendly demeanour; his pale eyes betray the intensity of a former All Black back-rower and this week’s abrupt dropping of the excellent Ethan de Groot for failing to meet “internal standards” underlined it. True, the absence of Richie Mo’unga deprives the All Blacks of the world’s best fly-half but combining the Barrett brothers at 10 and 12 is not the worst alternative. England also did not have to worry about the prolific Will Jordan – 35 tries in 37 tests – in July. “When we get it right we are a good team,” murmurs Robertson.
The visitors, last beaten at Twickenham in 2012, have also been toughened up by some demanding Rugby Championship fixtures while England, in some cases, have played very little rugby this season at all. They look to be a better balanced side nowadays but these are pivotal weeks for the Steve Borthwick project. Win all four November Tests and his squad’s future will feel warm and fuzzy. Lose to New Zealand for a third time in four months and, new stadium name or not, it will be the same old story.
