Alun Carter: Hodgson's choices show dilemma facing struggling teams

There were far more positives for England from their game against New Zealand on Saturday than many pundits would have us believe.

The physicality at the contact area and the play of Tom Rees saw England win that battle. Few teams get the better of Richie McCaw and Rodney So'oialo, but eight steals to five in favour of the red rose reflected well on some individuals. That combative approach earned a rare acknowledgement from McCaw. "That was the most physical match our players have had all year," said the All Black captain, who was extremely lucky not to be shown a yellow card by the referee, Nigel Owens.

England can challenge strongly in the second Test, with improved refereeing. So where did it go wrong in the first?

There was a clear strategy from New Zealand, sustained by a skill level that rarely broke down. England had their second line-out after 56 minutes. By this time they were trailing 37-13. The All Blacks, who did not kick to touch once from open play, denied the English a line-out platform.

The home team's philosophy is to break the game up by kicking infield, challenging the opposition to make use of counter-attacking situations. This is now a given and opponents have to be better prepared for it.

In the early part of the game New Zealand launched their attacking strike force from good positions, focusing, not surprisingly, on the English No 10 channel. The first three All Black tries centred on poor defence from Charlie Hodgson. While two moves directly attacked him, one capitalised on Hodgson overcompensating for his weakness by rushing up. Dan Carter put the kick behind for Conrad Smith to score.

After they had made breaks, the New Zealanders' ability to finish chances was a clear dividing line between the teams. While England consistently tried to keep the ball alive, they did so on the back foot. They have, however, to persist with this "offloading" approach.

As many British players enter the conditioning phase of their season a rugby ball should play a key part in training. Having dominated both possession and territory, Ireland, with greater ability on the ball, would have beaten Australia in Melbourne on Saturday.

The set-piece play of England and Wales has to improve. England had poor-quality ball from 25 per cent of their scrums while Wales had just 50 per cent quality possession from their scrum. Adam Jones should have played at tight head, as Rhys Thomas struggled. The All Blacks and the Springboks benefited from stable platforms.

England did disrupt the All Blacks' line-out – they won 13 out of 20, a meagre 65 per cent. This was not too dissimilar to Wales, who won 10 from 15, 67 per cent.

When skill is sometimes lacking, the ability to compete at set piece is critical for northern hemisphere teams. England must disrupt All Black possession if they are going to challenge in the second Test.

Alun Carter is Worcester's team manager. He was head of match analysis for Wales from 1998 to 2007 and technical assistant to Graham Henry on the 2001 Lions tour of Australia.