England victory veils a world of trouble

England 31 New Zealand 28: Wilkinson leads way and Cohen saves day

England launched their three-pronged series of internationals against the southern hemisphere superpowers with a winning start, but the manner and margin of their 31-28 victory over the All Blacks left more questions than answers.

Jonny Wilkinson collected 21 points as England defeated New Zealand for the first time in nine years and seven attempts, but it took a last-ditch cover tackle by winger Ben Cohen, on full-back Ben Blair, to subdue an All Black team who made light of the absence of 21 players either injured or rested.

A relieved England captain, Martin Johnson, said: "To beat New Zealand any time is good. They were very sharp and very quick, and that was a full Test match, a hard game." Jonah Lomu, the principal nemesis of England's fruitless recent wranglings against historically their toughest opponents, was at it again, scoring two of New Zeal-and's four tries to England's three.

Yet the home side, whose coach Clive Woodward needed this scalp to complete the set of major nations in his sixth season, looked to be pulling clear as tries by Wilkinson and Cohen early in the second half gave them a 31-14 lead. At that stage the red rose brigade's biggest win in the fixture – by a modest 13 points in Prince Obolensky's match here in 1936 – was set for a long overdue rub from the record books.

But New Zealand coach John Mitch-ell insisted all along that his side were the best available, and that they should be judged on the result and nothing else. Lomu – ironically the one player Mitchell conceded was off form beforehand – battered his way past three for his second try after 57 minutes, and Danny Lee, a reserve scrum-half several times removed and one of seven All Black debutants, added another to set up the nerve-jangling finish.

Blair's touchline dash was superbly cut down by Cohen, leaving Johnson to remark: "Benny saved us right at the end." Wilkinson, voted man of the match in a text vote among the 73,000 capacity crowd, added: "The whole game is about winning. We're not trying to look the best, just get the job done." With Australia and South Africa due at HQ in the next fortnight, and a World Cup down under less than 12 months away, the job is unlikely to get any easier for Woodward's men.