Overview
- England recorded a rare ninth win in 47 Tests against New Zealand and their first home victory over the All Blacks since 2012.
- The side shifted from a flat line into a V that resembled a horseshoe, with Maro Itoje at the point and Jamie George and Henry Pollock on the ends.
- Jamie George confirmed he conceived the plan, drawing on the 2019 World Cup semi-final approach and securing buy-in from Borthwick and Itoje.
- Unlike 2019, England stayed within World Rugby’s halfway-line rule, as a crowd of about 82,000 sang Swing Low, Sweet Chariot during the spectacle.
- The display was described as perhaps the best of the Borthwick era, and George urged celebration followed by a refocus for next weekend’s Argentina Test.