368th All Black Test
1088th All Black Game

11 September 2010

New Zealand vs England at Westpac Stadium
Wellington, New Zealand
Saturday, 14 June 2003

Reserves:

New Zealand:

England:

 16 K. F. Mealamu (sub 56 min)
 17 C. H. Hoeft
 18 B. C. Thorn
 19 J. Collins (sub 73 min)
 20 S. J. Devine (sub 47 min)
 21 D. W. Carter
 22 J. M. Muliaina (sub 72 min)

 16 D. West
 17 P. J. Vickery (sub 40 min)
 18 S. W. Borthwick
 19 J. P. R. Worsley (sub 72 min)
 20 A. Gomarsall
 21 P. J. Grayson
 22 D. Luger (sub 78 min)

Scorers

New Zealand

England

Tries:
D. C. Howlett
Conversions:
C. J. Spencer
Penalty Goals:
C. J. Spencer (2)

Penalty Goals:
J. P. Wilkinson (4)
Drop Goals:
J. P. Wilkinson

Match Report:

Strong defence and an off night with the boot by Carlos Spencer led to a spirited England side beating the All Blacks 15-13 at Wellington Stadium on Saturday night.

Jonny Wilkinson kicked all of his side's points with four penalties and a drop goal to give England their second ever win on New Zealand soil.

The English fought hard on defence throughout the match holding the All Blacks at bay at one stage with only 13 men.

It was a great England performance which deserve plenty of credit for the win after fighting off countless attacks by the All Blacks.

From the kick off the All Blacks were put firmly on the back foot as England charged down Spencer's opening clearance of the match. Spencer was then penalised by Australian referee Stuart Dickinson for holding on to the ball after the charge down.

England first-five Jonny Wilkinson slotted his first penalty attempt of the night to give the visitors the early lead.

Australian referee Stuart Dickinson made sure the All Blacks stayed behind the eight ball as he made some dubious penalty decisions against the home side early in the game. Dickinson penalised the All Blacks four times within the first five minutes to bring a stop-start feeling to the game.

Carlos Spencer had a chance to redeem his first minute mistake when England were penalised 30 metres out. But Spencer's kick from out wide drifted across the goal posts and the score remained at 3-0 to the visitors. A sign of things to come as Spencer struggled with his kicking all night.

Englnd were penalised once again a few minutes later and Spencer had a second chance to level the score. Pressure was mounting on Spencer as the ball fell off the tee twice and when he set up the ball the third time, referee Dickinson gave him 15 seconds to kick it.

Spencer and the rest of the nation sighed in relief as eventually the ball stayed on the tee and Spencer kicked the penalty to tie it up.

Dickinson evened up the penalty count at four each when England were penalised within kicking range once again, but Spencer missed his second penalty from three attempts.

The All Blacks first chance to cross the England line came in the 20th minute when the backline was utilised for the first time in the match. Rokocoko made a break from 15 metres out which set Caleb Ralph up for a run towards the corner, but he was quickly cut down by the scrambling England defence.

Wilkinson put the visitors back in front with his second penalty in the 25th minute. England only crossed the All Black 22m twice in the first 25 minutes and both times came away with three-pointers.

All Black dominance continued after the Wilkinson penalty with the homeside camping themselves back on the England half.

But solid England defence especially in the mid field stopped the All Black's constant attacks.

Carlos Spencer evened up the score once again when England flanker Neil Back was caught offside setting up an easy penalty attempt from in front.

The All Black coaching staff would of been annoyed with the halftime scoreline as the All Blacks dominated possession and territory but couldn't break the English defence.

England started the second half well, with plenty of possession, which brought the visitors the lead as Wilkinson struck a 50 metre penalty.

Just when it seemed the game was getting into the free flowing rugby that fans had wanted to see all week, referee Dickinson stamped his name on the match once again.

Dickinson yellow carded two England players, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio, within minutes of each other to leave the visitors at 13 men and put a sour note on the game.

The All Blacks didn't make the most of the two man advantage as the English fought bravely with the odds stacked against them.

The closest the home side got to getting points on the board was when Rodney So'oialo crossed the line but was called for double movement.

The hard working England side eventually outscored the All Blacks while they had only 13 men as Wilkinson kicked his fourth penalty of the night, giving England a 12-6 lead.

England pushed the lead out further as constant pressure inside the All Black half brought a drop goal from Wilkinson to take the score to 15-6.

The first try of the match finally came in the 62nd minute when Doug Howlett chased a Spencer kick into open territory.

Spencer converted and brought the All Blacks straight back into the match as the Howlett try took the score to 15-13.

Spencer had the chance to put the men in black in front when England were penalised inside their own 30 metre line, but Spencer's off night with the boot continued as the kick and New Zealand's chance for the lead drifted wide.

The All Black's desperately tried to break the England try line in the last minutes of the game but once again the England defence worked overtime to guarantee the visitors the win.

Note:
Positions displayed show the current player numbering system.
The past has seen players wear letters, Props wearing the Number 15 through to Fullbacks wearing Number 1.