England 20 New Zealand 41: There have been some epic all-white-versus-all-black collisions at this ever expanding monolith to English rugby, but this wasn't one of them. Twickenham has surely never witnessed such an untroubled and utterly predictable outcome, and this, despite the All Blacks looking well short of their vintage best. Indeed, you were left with the distinct impression England had actually escaped lightly.
Despite not having played together as a unit since September 3rd, and having some individuals who had played little or no rugby in the interim, the All Blacks cruised past a game but strictly limited English team.
New Zealand scrummed better, rucked better and used the ball inestimably better; and as they did against Ireland last summer, they ignored modern convention by simply never kicking to touch, thereby denying England the platform of lineout ball their more patterned game requires.
The All Blacks' use of the ball, their appreciation of space, their control of the ball - all were in a different league from England's.
Inevitably, England will cling to the mixed bag from newcomers Shaun Perry and Anthony Allen, and spells at the start of each half when they competed willingly, but in reality they were utterly outclassed. Their backs' use of the ball, especially, was at times embarrassingly indecisive.
The All Blacks had all the best performers: Chris Jack galloping around the turf with abandon and oodles of skill and presence, the frontrowers augmenting their work in the tight by seamlessly interlinking with their backs.
Byron Kelleher - appropriately the son of an Irish emigrant - seems to be getting better under Warren Gatland's tutelage at Waikato. Dan Carter and Aaron Mauger gave their game huge breadth and vision, while Ma'a Nonu, Joe Rokocoko and Rico Gear looked what they are: the best collection around of explosive runners in broken play.
The opening quarter was always liable to be England's best, and no sooner had that mark passed than the floodgates opened. In mitigation, the opening brace of penalties by Carter ought to have sandwiched a try by Jamie Noon, which the video official, Christophe Burdos, curiously denied England.
Charlie Hodgson, settling into an early stride, launched the big runners and off fourth cycle Noon straightened onto a deft transfer by Iain Balshaw, judiciously ignoring Danny Grewcock on his outside.
Video replays didn't clearly show Noon grounding the ball as the out- of-position Ma'a Nonu desperately slid under him, but the laws of gravity suggested he had done so.
Even in this opening quarter, the All Blacks' composed control of the ball was vastly superior, the passing and probing of Kelleher and Carter giving them close-in presence and width; their lengthy retention of the ball silencing the crowd.
With their early-game motivational juices flowing, England were putting in big hits and snaffling attempted offloads, but not for long. Low counter-rucking engineered a New Zealand turnover inside their own 22 and, like no other team on planet earth, the visitors scented blood.
Kelleher sniped effectively, for the third time already, and when they went wide Rico Gear stood Noon up and left him for dead, breaking clear and then veering infield from a startled-looking Balshaw. Tony Woodcock, of all people, was the only support, and he seemed to have blown it, but Jack secured the ruck ball and McCaw picked up to put Mauger over.
In truth, this wasn't even particularly well executed by their standards. England even struck back on the half hour, going wide off scrum ball. Allen's delayed - or maybe indecisive - pass to Balshaw missed the fullback but Noon steamed onto it to score.
However, after a 54-metre penalty by Carter, that try was made to look fortunate by some embarrassingly inept English back play.
First a combination of Balshaw, Noon and Allen botched a fatally indecisive counterattack with time aplenty, then Allen hesitated before his intended double-skip pass for Balshaw was easily picked off by Rokocoko for an intercept try from inside half-way.
The class divide was underlined more handsomely from another turnover, courtesy of Lewis Moody's knock-on, deep in All Black territory. Rokocoko, so eager for work, put them on the front foot with his dancing feet and copybook width and depth off the recycle, Mauger moved Carter's skip pass on to Keven Mealamu, Nonu powering up the touchline before flicking a one-handed inside pass to Jack, who in turn passed inside for Carl Hayman to score with three teammates in close support.
At half-time and 28-5, the game was up. England, briefly and inevitably, upped their intensity after the break, good hands across the pitch by the halves, the centres, Martin Corry, George Chuter and Moody putting Cohen over, but Hodgson missed a penalty to maintain this fleeting momentum and with it the crowd's interest.
Carter having missed a penalty, Kelleher gathered an overcooked and aimless 22-metre restart by Hodgson, McCaw also taking up this inviting opportunity to move the ball on infield to Carter. Moving up the gears in that effortless style of his, Carter handed off Allen and straightened through for an alarmingly soft-looking try.
There was a breakaway try by the debutant English scrumhalf Shaun Perry (though Peter Richards looks a more sharp-witted, competitive option) off a rare mistake by Mauger.
A ridiculously harsh sinbinning of Chris Masoe, for not rolling away from underneath Cohen after hauling him down, was as much for the cumulative slowing down of ball on both sides, but it and the ensuing penalty by Hodgson seemed to merely concentrate New Zealand minds.
Carter slotted two penalties for a 26-point haul, the second incurred by Grewcock for pulling the hair of debutant replacement scrumhalf Andrew Ellis.
That won't have stopped Ellis wearing his first cap with pride last night. This is a good time to be an All Black, a worrying time to be all-white.
Effortless, and easy, for the prince of outhalves and his teammates.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Carter pen 0-3; 15: Carter pen 0-6; 22: Mauger try, Carter con 0-13; 30: Noon try 5-13; 38: Carter pen 5-16; 39: Rokocoko try, Carter con 5-23; 40(+6): Hayman try 5-28 (half-time 5-28); 45: Cohen try, Hodgson con 12-28; 55: Carter try and con 12-35; 59: Perry try 17-35; 65: Hodgson pen 20-35; 68: Carter pen 20-38; 75: Carter pen 20-41.
ENGLAND: I Balshaw (Gloucester); P Sackey (Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle), A Allen (Gloucester), B Cohen (Northampton); C Hodgson (Sale), S Perry (Bristol); A Sheridan (Sale), G Chuter (Leicester), J White (Leicester); D Grewcock (Bath), B Kay (Leicester); M Corry (Leicester, capt), L Moody (Leicester), P Sanderson (Worcester). Replacements: M Lund (Sale) for Sanderson (61 mins), P Richards (Gloucester) for Perry (66 mins), L Mears (Bath) for Chuter (75 mins). Unused: S Turner (Sale), C Jones (Sale), A Goode (Leicester), M Van Gisbergen (Wasps).
NEW ZEALAND: M Muliaina (Chiefs); R Gear (Crusaders), M Nonu (Hurricanes), A Mauger (Crusaders), J Rokocoko (Blues); D Carter (Crusaders), B Kelleher (Chiefs); T Woodcock (Blues), K Mealamu (Blues), C Hayman (Highlanders); C Jack (Crusaders), K Robinson (Chiefs); R Thorne (Crusaders), R McCaw (Crusaders, capt), C Masoe (Hurricanes). Replacements: A Ellis (Crusaders) for Kelleher (68 mins), S Sivivatu (Chiefs) for Gear (70 mins), C Dermody (Highlanders) for Woodcock, R So'oialo (Hurricanes) for Thorne (both 72 mins), A Hore (Hurricanes) for Mealamu, J Afoa (Blues) for Hayman (both 75 mins). Unused: L MacDonald (Crusaders). Sinbinned: Masoe (65 mins),
Referee: J Jutge (France).
