All Blacks centre Jack Goodhue after losing to England in the Rugby World Cup semifinal. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Rugby World Cup will have a new home for the next four years after England knocked out the All Blacks with a stunning 19-7 semifinal win.
Here is how the English and World media reacted to the match:
Mick Cleary of the Telegraph UK:
"Eddie Jones wanted his side to create history by knocking New Zealand off their perch. And it wasn't a nudge that they gave the All Blacks. It was a bloomin' great wallop in the ribs, reducing the world's most accomplished team to not just mere mortals but also-rans. The victory was more emphatic than the scoreboard indicates.
"Eddie Jones wanted his side to create history. And they have. They had never beaten New Zealand at a World Cup. This was only their second win in the last 17 encounters. This was a defining performance, full of grit and cleverness and heart, England's finest ever victory. Of course it is only a semi-final. Of course, there is another massive hurdle to try and clamber over."
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"Eddie Jones had spoken in the week of his confidence that the Red Rose could book a first final place since 2007, and they duly defeated the All Blacks - tournament winners in 2011 and 2015.
"And the Red Rose duly produced with a magnificent, powerful display, as they continue their quest to match the 2003 achievement of becoming world champions."
"This was one of England's greatest sporting days - and I am not just talking rugby here. The planning, execution, defending and attacking of this breathtaking England team made it arguably their greatest day, a performance they will find hard to surpass if they win the final at the same venue next Saturday.
"New Zealand lose occasionally but they are never crushed. So this was a glorious first. Forget the scoreboard. They scored one lucky try and for the rest of the evening they looked like little boys being bullied outside the sweet shop. They were lucky not to lose players to the bin and there was a time when Marius Jonker, the TMO, was a far bigger danger to England than the opposition.
"Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, the flankers, cannot play that well twice in two games, surely. Well, maybe you can. They did. The England defence was stunning with Maro Itoje and Manu Tuilagi off the planet."
Paul Grayson for BBC Radio 5 Live
"England got it absolutely right. The quality of some of the tackling - you were never two passes away from a dominant hit and they picked when to go in and compete almost perfectly. England spent the whole of the second half forcing New Zealand to play out from their own third. They were physically and mentally dominant today."
Jack Rathborn of The Independent:
"New Zealand were supposed to emerge for the second half like a wounded animal. England had rocked and out-rucked, even out-leapt at the line-outs Steve Hansen's side had so pointedly targeted. For each inch that Eddie Jones' side played brilliantly, they had strangled the myth of the All Blacks far from reality.
"But, when the inevitable fightback came, an early charge, a quick cycling through the backline that had until then been so deflated, England acted so quickly to extinguish it.
"Everyone believed England would crumble in the face of this adversity, but the fall never came and now, surely, after dethroning the champions, they are ready to carve an era of their own."
Roberts Kitson of The Guardian:
"No one connected with English rugby will ever forget the annus mirabilis of 2003 but finally Martin Johnson and co have some serious competition. While Eddie Jones's squad are still be 80 minutes short of their ultimate ambition, it is impossible to recall any Red Rose side, ancient or modern, playing better than this.
"If it sounds faintly unreal to report that New Zealand, the tournament favourites and previously unbeaten in 18 World Cup matches dating back to 2007, could conceivably have been beaten by 30 unanswered points that is the plain, unvarnished truth. Their dreams of becoming the first team to win three consecutive Webb Ellis Cups were not so much dashed on a humid evening as sliced and diced by a bunch of sword-wielding Samurai warriors."
Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times:
"The All Blacks have been great champions, but their time is up. The rugby world didn't quite shake to its foundations, but England wrested the All Blacks' hold over the World Cup in emphatic fashion, inflicting the holders with their first defeat since that quarter-final against France in Cardiff in 2007.
"That was also the last World Cup that England reached the final, after beating France in the semi-finals before losing to the Springboks in the decider. Were the latter to overcome Wales on Sunday, the 2019 last pairing will be the same, and thus leave England with the third leg of a trio of games against the southern hemisphere's big three.
"If that England over-achieved and were a little flattered in reaching the final, the same cannot be said of this team. Taking the game to the back-to-back champions with a carefully thought out and well executed game plan which repeatedly used the flanks in attack to find soft edges, before coming back up the middle."
"This was as conclusive a win over the All Blacks as you will ever see.
"England shattered New Zealand's aura and prevented them from barely firing a shot. The eventual 19-7 scoreline Saturday flattered the All Blacks. England were better in every area of the game as they put together their finest performance since 2003 to book a spot in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.
"At the full-time whistle, there were the exhausted hugs as adrenaline peaked and then subsided, but England's focus was relentless and unwavering, their application and intensity at a level seldom seen in the sport."
Dylan Jack of SA Rugby Magazine:
"The game was expected to be an epic contest and it proved to be so. The electric pre-match atmosphere was only heightened by England providing a unique challenge to the All Blacks' haka, showing their intent to front up to the defending champions.
"The match belonged to England as they disrupted the All Blacks at the set piece and breakdown and forced them into errors. It has been a while since the All Blacks lacked control as they did in this game and that had a lot to with their lack of stability at the set piece as well as the English kicking and defence."
Guys I know it hurts, but theres young English kids here crying and cheering, and old men telling me how proud and humbled they are to win..
— James Nokise (@JamesNokise) October 26, 2019
I’m at the absolute heart of English Rugby fans and they’ve been damn graceful about it.#ENGvNZL #RWC2019
🗣️"he's been like Superman out there today!" #ENGvNZL #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/yxKe7ETmAs
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 26, 2019
Wow that was something else. What a comprehensive performance. #ENGvNZL
— Brian O'Driscoll (@BrianODriscoll) October 26, 2019
An absolute honour to commentate one of the great Rugby World Cup performances. England were quite simply magnificent from first whistle to last #ENGvNZL #RWC2019
— Nigel Yalden 🇳🇿🎙☕️ (@NigelYalden) October 26, 2019
Former All Blacks' frustrations began before he coached his first All Blacks test.