Reflections

The questions is why did the All Blacks fail to perform? Was it that England were better on the day or errors of selection and bad calls on the pitch.

A bit of everything really.

There seems a zest about England even when they warmed up and – when they formed the crescent against the Haka, Owen Farrell gave a cheeky smile and Joe Marler encroached – I feared the worst for our guys. England started with verve and intensity and once Manu Tuilagi gave them the lead it was defended stoutly.

As a former lock forward, let me tell you Maro Itoje is one of the best.

I hear he is one kind of genius. This you can appreciate that from the intelligence of his runs and his calling of the line outs – an area totally dominated by England though not helped by Mo’unga dropping back behind the line-out to outside half. I

thought Brodie Retallick was the best player on the planet but Itoje is now.