Tiring England lose out to late Kiwi precision

NO ONE need get into a lather of displeasure over England's four-try defeat by the New Zealand Barbarians in a contest of rare intensity and no little flair. Argentina, England's opponents at Twickenham in 12 days, may well experience the backlash of their hosts' palpable frustration at staying in close touch for an exhilarating 70 minutes before allowing the New Zealanders to take them apart with ruthless precision.

It is worth remembering that England's young side, which included eight players with a handful of caps, were up against an All Blacks outfit that has beaten every major side in the world within the past 13 months.

Sure, this was another salutary rugby lesson from a Southern Hemisphere nation - last season South Africa dished out the medicine - but the real surprise this time round was that Phil de Glanville's fiery battlers held a 19-13 lead after almost an hour's play.

Second-half tries by Sleightholme and Stimpson, who had a marvellous game, underlined England's bold commitment to attacking the New Zealand line through the backs as well as the forwards, among whom Johnson and Sheasby were outstanding.

Had the half-backs Catt and Gomarsail not periodically kicked away possession, thus dissipating England's pressure, additional scores might have come in the opening half-hour when England were at their best.

The real test of England's creative development will come next year when the full New Zealand side key All Blacks were absent on Saturday - return to play two internationals at Twickenham. But by that stag& many of the England team should be streetwise and battle-hardened, having taken part in a Lions' tour to South Africa.

In the meantime, the England coach, Jack Rowell, must keep his nerve irrespective of results and focus on perfecting the flexible 15-man style of ball in hand that gave the Kiwis a run for their money.

As Jason Leonard, England's pack leader, pointed out: "You couldn't tell how much a step up that match was because the difference was so vast. They reminded me of any New Zealand side. You have to make your tackles, you have to stop them on the gain line and you have to stop them playing. For those of our players who had one cap each, it was so many gears up from club rugby. But they have learned a vast amount.

Once the New Zealanders, who had not played a serious match for eight weeks, shook the ring rustiness out of their system, England always had their work cut out to withstand waves of pressure from men who wanted to attack from any part of the field.

Lomu, who did not seem fully fit, threatened Sleightholme down the left flank less often than had been feared, but full-back Cullen was a dangerous Jack-in-the-box in broken play, and the right wing, Vidiri, showed a speed of thought in setting up an early try for Brooke with a quick throw in that matched his breathtaking pace.

In the final half-hour, England began to lag behind the Kiwis in fitness, pace, and explosive power in the tackle, crucially failing to put opponents on the ground at the start of each fresh attack.

Professionalism should enable the England squad to develop the power and fitness that would put them on level terms with the Southern Hemisphere nations by next summer. In that respect, Rowell might study rugby league conditioning methods.

"Ultimately, the pace of the game got to England and that was the decisive factor among the loose forwards," declared John Hart, the New Zealand coach who is probably the most advanced thinker in world rugby. "I looked at their big loose forward trio and I would say things were the wrong way round - size is okay but speed, skill and strength are the critical elements of the modern game.

"At training we put a lot of pressure on ourselves in terms of our own skill level and speed. What you saw today is a result of that intensity and that is maybe the biggest shift in New Zealand rugby in the past 10 years. We put pressure on a few of the England players and I thought maybe the number nine (Gomarsall) - whom I regard as a good player - got exposed a little under that pressure. To win going away as we did was an impressive effort."

Significantly, the two oldest players on the pitch, Sean Fitzpatrick (33) and Michael Jones (31), finished as strongly as the youngest men, setting a standard of sustained commitment allied to instinctive know-how that turned the tide against England with a vengeance.

Equally daunting was the 21-year-old Auckland flanker, Andrew Blowers, whose instant decision-making - which earned him a try just after the break - frequently set the English back row problems they found difficult to resolve.

England, though, did have men of substance who threatened an upset for much of the afternoon. No Kiwi forward was more dynamic than England's Johnson or more positive than Sheasby, whose fire was not doused by a heavy blow to the knee on the hour. Stimpson, rock solid under the high ball, rattled opponents with a number of big hits, Adebayo frequently charged into the heart of the Kiwi defence, and Sleightholme gained brownie points in both attack and defence.

Ultimately, it was the Barbarians' replacement, outside-half, Carlos Spencer, who destroyed leg-weary England with two penalty goals from the edge of the box and a spectacular try with a laser-like midfield break from behind a nick that, together with his conversion, gave his side a 29-19 lead.

Almost as an afterthought, the elegant Vidiri added a late try after Gomarsall kicked the ball straight into Kiwi hands. Painful lessons, punishing results - but plenty of power and pride to persevere with.