It's Over.

The final tour game for England took place today, while the country obsessed over the football, my only real interest was in this game against this historic team. The Maori team represent more than just a rugby symbol; they are a proud and significant part of New Zealand as a country. Brand “All Blacks” may be the ultimate rugby team but the Maori are the basis on which rugby in New Zealand was built. I would say in many ways they are the front line of attack, a team of test quality. They are often talked about as the All Blacks second team but I think that does them a great disservice. Yes the names may be the same at times but this is a team based on its own principles and ancestry. If anything the All Blacks are the offspring.


England had in its team it’s very own Maori in the form of Dan Ward-Smith only on the bench but hailing from New Zealand and with Maori heritage, I am sure he made his team aware of the importance of the fixture to the opposition. Moving to the game, England carried on where they left off and opened up their rugby based on a solid forward foundation, scrum and lineout functioned well and let’s face it these are the parts of the England team that rarely fail to do that. It’s just everything else that lets us down and lets other teams in. Let’s not be under any illusion the rugby played by the Southern hemisphere is instinctive rugby, it is based on a solid game plan; don’t get me wrong, but when things happen outside of that game plan. The Players of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and of course the Maori react 2 or 3 seconds quicker all the time. They hit rucks quicker, they run quicker, their brains seem to be tuned to a different frequency than those in the North; A rugby frequency that we have to find in order to beat these teams. The Maori today were on the ropes, but always looked dangerous if that makes sense? When they break they flood the opposition with attacking opportunities that stand defences up. Indecision in defence kills. Today Brad Barrit the South African born Saracens centre was clearly caught out by the defensive system and never put trust in his outside men to make the tackles. This can be forgiven because he was new in the set up. What we must do is persevere with him and ease the likes of Tindal onto pastures new. This was a great game and the Maori were well deserved winners, it could have swung on one or two important moments but it was rugby at its best. It was commitment and passion from both teams and Credit to Chris Robshaw who must be knocking on the door for a test spot. I have to also say, Hosea Gear has to be doing something wrong not to be being picked for the All Blacks. This guy was a force of nature and everywhere. It was one of the stand out performances of the summer tests in my opinion, I hope for his sake Graham Henry in the crowd thought the same.

Hosea Gear

I have put the Maori on a pedestal in my opening paragraph but I want to make it clear that England should have beaten them. The most heavily financed and resourced team in the world game should be able to beat an invitational side. I am not going to pretend otherwise. But the outlook from this tour is good. We have seen many players come into their own and stand up. The future is bright and it is exciting but we walk towards it with trepidation, how far off reverting to the way we played the first Aussie test are we? England has always been pragmatic “winning ugly” was the motto. I think that has to change. We have a solid foundation in out forwards. We still need to shuffle the back row a little I think. But the foundation is there to play some great rugby and rugby that will not only entertain the crowds but challenge the oppositions.