Rugby Union: Fans honour an epic effort

David Llewellyn sees the visitors encounter more than they bargained for

It was difficult, amid the back-slapping, the hysterical cheering and the lap of honour by the players who wanted to show their appreciation of the amazing support for a brave England performance, to remember that Lawrence Dallaglio's men had lost to New Zealand.

There were some epic struggles on the unfamiliar turf of Old Trafford, and some Herculean efforts, notably on the part of a more solid-looking England pack. But in the end it was the All Blacks who triumphed.

"Everyone in the dressing-room is disappointed," the coach Clive Woodward admitted afterwards. "They really felt they could have won. But the most amazing thing about the whole game was the crowd. The decision to stage the match at Old Trafford was a touch of genius."

The 55,000-plus who had gathered in Manchester cheered England to the echo. Even the warm-up found them working themselves into a vocal frenzy.

"The atmosphere was brilliant," Woodward said. "And I think the noise caught out the All Blacks. And the reason England ran around the pitch afterwards was merely to show their appreciation for the wonderful support they had received."

At least, though, it was not the rout which the gloomier England fans had feared. But as much as England covered themselves with glory, so too the All Blacks let themselves down.

They have always prided themselves on getting the basics right. Yesterday, that was not the case. There were turnovers, knock-ons, dropped passes and panicky indecision on the frequent occasions England applied the screw. Unfortunately they lacked a screwdriver. Too often the world's best were let off. Too often in the last few yards an England player would stop when just a stride away from breaking clear, almost in disbelief, and that split second was all the time the All Blacks needed to regroup.

But after the fans had filed out of the stadium, the manager Roger Uttley said: "We thought we were in with a chance, and by the time the boys came out for the second half they had discovered that these guys in black were not supermen."

Just so. The errors in the usually perfect New Zealanders' game meant England were always in with a chance. Sadly, they were unable to take those opportunities. But there was plenty of positive material to take into training as they begin preparations for the arrival of South Africa next weekend.

The defensive display was at times awesome. Dallaglio, Tony Diprose, Richard Hill and later Neil Back, as well as the England midfield, put their bodies on the line. So did the England scrum. The hooker Richard Cockerill did not put up with any nonsense.

He made his intentions clear even before the start, when he stood up to his opposite number, Norm Hewitt, during the Haka, the All Blacks' traditional ceremonial dance of welcome - which does seem to have a great deal to do with psyching up the New Zealanders.

There was some jostling between Cockerill and Hewitt. Later the England hooker said: "It was not premeditated, it just happened. I singled out my opposite number." But at the end of the Haka, the All Black prop Craig Dowd appeared to bang England scrum-half Kyran Bracken out of the way with his chest.

The incidents riled the New Zealand coach John Hart. "It was totally disrespectful," he said. "All we ask for is a bit of respect for our culture. That sort of behaviour has no place on a football field." The New Zealand captain Justin Marshall added: "We've never had to deal with that. I was surprised with the way England reacted. The Haka is not meant to upset the opposition, it's a cultural thing."