Julian Savea scores hat-trick as All Blacks rip through England

Tours to New Zealand are like trips to the dentist. Sooner or later a hole will emerge and there is no team quite like the All Blacks for filling them in. This conclusive victory was the hosts’ 17th successive win, equalling the world record for a tier one nation, and has duly completed a 3-0 series drilling. England will fly home, as they so often do from the southern hemisphere, nursing a dull ache and quietly relieved it is all over.

They will also know that, for 40 minutes, this was as gruesome as it gets. Under Stuart Lancaster they have been reliably competitive and were again in a second-half which ended up 7-7. Prior to half-time, though, England were dreadful, producing their most disjointed display for 15 months. Their defensive uncertainty and sluggish line speed made this as uncomfortable an experience as Lancaster’s team have endured since Cardiff last year.

Suddenly there was a black hole where England’s increased competitiveness was supposed to be. New Zealand have won all three Tests because, when it matters, they rise to whatever challenge they encounter.

Even with the game won and just 14 men on the field they still kept playing after the siren and were rewarded with a final converted try. If ever there was a passage of play which summed up the relentless mindset of Richie McCaw’s side, that was surely it.

After their two narrow defeats in Auckland and Dunedin, England simply could not summon the same intensity. The prolific Julian Savea scored a hat-trick of tries, taking his tally against the English to eight in four Tests, and scrum-half Aaron Smith also touched down twice, while Ben Smith at full-back did nothing to dent his claims to be the man of the series.

Some visiting reputations, in contrast, took a heavy battering. Kyle Eastmond was hauled off at half-time, his bid to become England’s long-term no 12 in tatters. Chris Ashton also had a grim evening. A number of forwards looked weary, Freddie Burns could not restore any order and even Marland Yarde, probably his side’s most threatening player, had a couple of defensive episodes he would rather forget.

A game too far? It is an easy excuse to reach for but England have fielded 46 players on this trip and not all of them were totally exhausted.

They simply started dreadfully and never fully recovered, conceding 29 points inside the first 34 minutes. Some of the All Blacks’ support running and angles were outstanding but the lack of visiting organisation made their job easier.

Savea had two tries on the board inside nine minutes, both the result of New Zealand outflanking England’s narrow defensive line. The second owed much to the predatory winger’s ability to grasp a wet ball which arrived on the half-volley but he still had way too much space in which to complete the score.

Could it get any worse for England? Of course it could. Billy Vunipola was sin-binned for a high tackle and Joe Launchbury was led away for lengthy treatment. With the visitors reduced to 14 men, Yarde missed Cory Jane on the right and Aaron Smith nipped over for his side’s third try, converted by Aaron Cruden. A fourth followed six minutes before the interval, more slick inter-passing splitting England apart yet again, with the outstanding Ben Smith setting up his scrum-half namesake.

At 29-6 the result was already a foregone conclusion, although the half-time withdrawal of Kieran Read gave England some respite. Yarde scored a good 43rd minute try following nice work from Launchbury and a jinking Youngs but this New Zealand side are wearing their world champions’ crown with increasing distinction. Among the major nations only the All Blacks of 1965-69 and the Springboks of 1997-98 have previously won 17 Tests in a row.

The crucial question, of course, is what happens next, with the Rugby World Cup in England only 15 months away. New Zealand’s next game is against the resurgent Wallabies in Sydney; with South Africa also on the up, might New Zealand reach Twickenham in November feeling as jiggered as one or two Englishmen do now? Then again, do England – even when fresh -have what it takes to make the giant leap from challengers to champions?

There will have to be a certain amount of reassessment, not least on the art of developing on-field leaders capable of steadying things when turbulence is encountered. Under pressure this young English side are still guilty of repeatedly poor decision-making. Whatever the coaching staff told them in the build-up to this Test seemed to go straight in one ear and out the other.

Personnel-wise, Lancaster at least has plenty of options still available. Alex Corbisiero, Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Mako Vunipola, Tom Croft, Jack Nowell, George Ford and Christian Wade, among others, will rejoin the peleton next season; Danny Care, Owen Farrell and Geoff Parling were all missing here. The English U20 side have just retained their junior world championship title, with the Baby Blacks once again unable to to make the final. If nothing else, New Zealanders have had their eyes opened to England’s growing strength in depth.

But winning rugby, in the end, is not about depth. It is about being as error-free as possible, regardless of playing style, and the All Blacks will now recognise the chance to secure a major psychological advantage this autumn. Another win over England this autumn will be their fifth on the spin, with all that entails for both teams. England may have some good young players but are they as consistent as Savea, Brodie Retallick, and Beauden Barrett? On the evidence of this series the answer is ’no.’

New Zealand: B Smith (Highlanders); Jane (Hurricanes), Fekitoa (Highlanders; Crotty (Crusaders, 64), Nonu (Blues), Savea (Hurricanes); Cruden (Chiefs; Barrett (Hurricanes, 44), A Smith (Highlanders; Perenara (Hurricanes, 75); Woodcock (Blues; Crockett (Crusaders, 64), Coles (Hurricanes; Mealamu (Blues, 44), Franks (Crusaders; Faumuina (Blues, 58), Retallick (Chiefs; Tuipulotu (Blues, 77), Whitelock (Crusaders), Kaino (Blues), McCaw (Crusaders, capt), Read (Crusaders; Messam (Chiefs, h/t).

Tries: Savea 3, A Smith 2. Cons: Cruden 3, Barrett. Pen: Cruden.

Sin-bin: Crockett 72.

England: Brown (Harlequins); Ashton (Saracens), Tuilagi (Leicester), Eastmond (Bath; Burrell (Northampton, h/t), Yarde (Harlequins); Burns (Leicester; Cipriani (Sale, 60), Youngs (Leicester; L Dickson (Northampton, 72); Marler (Harlequins; Mullan (London Wasps, 66), Hartley (Northampton; Webber (Bath, 57), Wilson (Bath; Brookes (Newcastle, 56), Lawes (Northampton), Launchbury (London Wasps; Attwodd (Bath, 66), Wood (Northampton), Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), B Vunipola (Saracens; Morgan (Gloucester, 56).

Try: Yarde. Con: Burns. Pens: Burns 2.

Sin-bin: Vunipola 21.

Referee: J Garces (France). Att: 25,800.

Match rating: 8/10.