Is this the end of George Ford? – Tilly J
An exciting time for rugby fans with the Autumn Series commncing last weekend. Saturday was a busy day for the Jordan household after watching two matches of rugby league (England vs Wales and England vs Samoa – with a star appearance of Herbie Farnworth), we then tuned onto TNT sports to watch England vs New Zealand and Scotland vs Fiji. I do admit that I did turn into a crouch critic, but don’t we all?? As much as I would like to go into all these matches, there was only one that really stood out: England vs NZ.
It all started when Joe Marler tweeted: The Haka should be binned. Then tensions arised when the England teamsheet came out. No Steward, no Hill or Underhill and 4 vice-captains (one of which being a sub). I guess more people were relieved when Alex Mitchell wasn’t selected but the sqaud did raise some questions…
Match Summary:
England lost narrowly in two Tests against the All Blacks in July and were edged out once more as George Ford’s last-play drop-goal drifted agonisingly wide after he had hit the post with a potential match-winning penalty.
The hosts had been on the back foot in the first half, fortunate to only be two points adrift as Marcus Smith’s boot repaired some of the damage from Tele’a and Will Jordan’s tries.
But Smith snatched an interception early in the second half to set up a try for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to give England the lead, before edging the hosts out to a 22-14 advantage.
Belief coursed through Twickenham but ultimately a performance of stubborn determination went unrewarded as Tele’a dived in late on to cap a period of pressure and England’s late rally could not salvage victory.
England’s players, including the substituted Smith, consoled Ford as they trudged away from another painful loss, while winning captain Scott Barrett went off with his jubilant team to collect the Hillary Shield.
The pressure is now on Steve Borthwick’s side to recover from another narrow defeat – a frustrating fourth such loss in five games.
“It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment,” Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
“When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door.”
England play Australia – ranked 10th in the world – next weekend, before a rematch with Rugby World Cup semi-final conquerors South Africa and a final game against Japan on 24 November.
“We really have to find a way of winning these close ones,” added George. “We put ourselves in a really good position come 60 minutes.
“Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect.”
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