RICHARD KNOWLER AT TWICKENHAM - Fairfax Media
Last updated 05:40 07/11/2010
Maybe Mike Ford will keep his clam shut the next time he sees the All Blacks riding over the horizon.
Having beaten England 26-16 in London this morning, the New Zealanders gave Ford a couple of reasons to reconsider why test rugby does have the right to be entertaining.
In the build-up to this match England defensive coach Ford let his mouth start gabbling before his brain had any chance to register what he was on about, as he stated the international stage was all about defensive resolve rather than piling on a mountain of points on the scoreboard.
Ironically, England did their share of attacking as they looked to spread the ball wide from the get-go and then dominated the final quarter; they threw wave after wave of offensive movements at the All Blacks, whose scrambling defence was forced to call on all their experience and trust in each other to deny their opponents a win.
All three tries were scored by New Zealanders, with left wing Hosea Gear and No 8 Kieran Read crossing over for the All Blacks in the first half and Kiwi ex-pat replacement hooker Dylan Hartley barging over for England in the second spell.
A rough diamond, no doubt, Hartley - who has form with the judiciary for such nasty acts as eye-gouging and has spent his time with sports shrinks trying to discover ways to dampen his fiery temper - could not resist unleashing a cheap shot at Richie McCaw in the second half when he aimed at his head with his shoulder.
That incident caused an angered Brad Thorn to knock the rake off his feet with a shoulder shove and then things got testy; handbags were swung and teeth were bared.
Maybe the judiciary will have more to say about Hartley's actions, but the television match official, Guilio de Santis, was not so bothered by him scoring his five-pointer with what appeared suspiciously to be a double-movement.
If All Blacks fans thought their side's conditioning would allow them to run amok in the final quarter they were to be disappointed.
Instead it was the Poms that did all the talk with the ball in hand and when Jerome Kaino was shown a yellow card inside the final 10 minutes they just kept on coming and several times replacement wing Isaia Toeava was forced to pull off some desperate tackles.
Toeava's effort on a flying Shontayne Hape - another Kiwi no less - could have been a potential match-saver.
Leading 26-16, the desperate All Blacks were fiercely defending their line when former Kiwis rugby league international Hape appeared to have found space down the touch to score.
However, Toeava managed to charge into him and the TMO was forced to admit Hape had knocked the ball on over the line.
As they look back on this result, the All Blacks, over a few quiet, reflective beers post-match, may have admitted they got too slack after leading 17-3 at halftime.
Indeed, it appeared as if the win would come easily when they habitually found wide open spaces in the English defensive line and it was a classic offload by debutant Sonny Bill Williams, followed by a lobbed pass from Mils Muliaina that saw Gear score.
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