By Gregor Paul at Twickenham
By producing one of the most porous and panic-ridden 12 minutes in their history to allow England to scramble a draw at Twickenham, the All Blacks have finished the season having perhaps given a false impression of their true potential.
They have some issues – most notably they don’t know how to close a game out.
The art of putting their boot on the throat of an opponent and keeping it there has not yet been discovered by this group and so there is a mental fragility about the All Blacks that will make them prone to horror periods such as the one witnessed against England.
But for the 68 minutes prior to the mental demons taking hold, the All Blacks were all romper stomper and too much for England to handle.
There was nothing pretty about their work, but then they have learned that pretty is for the vain and vacuous and not something they need to strive for.
New Zealand were direct and confrontational. Their driving maul was the best weapon they had, and their scrum wasn’t so far behind.
Then there was their ball carrying and cleanout work, which was again much better than England’s, and but for a wonky lineout, it was almost the perfect display of collision-based rugby.
England’s coach Eddie Jones was certainly of that view, saying: “I thought New Zealand were superb in the first half.
“I can’t recall a New Zealand side playing as well as they did in the in the first half. Aggressive, sharp around the ruck, good attacking kicks and we just had to hang in there.
“We hung in there and we hung in there and then start of the second half we were able to put some pressure back on them. I thought we were the dominant team in the first half of the second half but we couldn’t convert pressure into points.
“And then all of a sudden, someone blows some magic dust and the passes started to stick, the lines were a bit sharper. Our finishers came on and improved the game we wanted to play. The game changes.”
When a team collapses as dramatically as the All Blacks did, however, it is hard not to fixate a little on something that spectacular and damaging.
But Jones’ assessment is one to consider as the All Blacks were as brilliant as they were awful and there is no question they have finished 2022 a more cohesive, better prepared and better equipped team than they were at the end of 2021.
They have built the resilience, the forward power and set-piece proficiency to win any physical battle and if England can’t beat them up anymore, no one can.
And so while there was immediate disappointment within the All Blacks playing ranks as they trooped off the field, it was a fug that lifted relatively quickly.
“Straight after the whistle it was like we did lose and our mindset in that last minute was to play and theirs wasn’t obviously,” said Rieko Ioane.
“But we are just grateful where we have come from and where we are now. We finished on a loss last year and this year we have finished on a draw and next year we will finish on a win.
“I have seen the progress from 2020 until now and have seen how the team has progressed. I have 100 per cent trust in players one to 36, my coaches, everyone.”
Teammate Ardie Savea felt much the same way, noting that the All Blacks have endured much in 2022 and yet found a way to reach the last game of the season as a better, more cohesive team than they were in their first game.
He said: “Reflecting back on the year, it has been a hell of a journey. Being in the environment it is pretty special to be where we are given where we have been as a team.
“We have been in the trenches together and there is something beautiful about being in the trenches together. It has been a hell of a journey, but it is something we wouldn’t change.”