The ‘standout’ day ‘the blood drained out of the faces’ of All Blacks greats Richie McCaw and Kieran Read and why ‘this is England’s time’ again
Tom Youngs and Tom Wood on England's victory over the All Blacks in 2012.
A lot of water has run under Twickenham bridge since Tom Youngs and Tom Wood combined to beat New Zealand with England back in the year of the London Olympics.
There have been 13 Novembers and five further visits by the All Blacks. A men’s World Cup has been hosted at Allianz Stadium, won by New Zealand; so too a women’s edition in which the Red Roses succeeded the Black Ferns as champions of the world.
In the men’s game the old Cabbage Patch has seen nothing to compare with 1 December 2012, when England raced into a 15-0 lead and weathered a mid-game storm to win 38-21, a record score and margin of victory.
Days after uniting again, this time in the ‘745’ cross-code game to raise much-needed funds to fight motor neurone disease, the two Toms tell Planet Rugby how it happened and what England need to do if they are to repeat the result on Saturday.
Famous victory
“It was one of those days where you’re in a bubble and it’s going to take something very big to burst it,” recalls Youngs, who started alongside brother Ben that historic afternoon.
“New Zealand are a great team and rugby nation. When they’re on, they’re on. You feel it. They’re flying around everywhere. You’re like, ‘Bloody hell, Christ!’ But that day we managed to stop them bursting our bubble.
“It was one of those weeks you sometimes have in sport. Your backs are to the wall, you’re so up against it. The fear is real that you might get your pants pulled down.
“We got on the field, got off to a great start and things started clicking. Twickenham was on its feet, our confidence grew and grew.
“What was the secret? I think that we kept going at them, repeatedly, and took our opportunities. They maybe didn’t take theirs.”
History recalls tries for Chris Ashton, Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi, who had a game of games, terrorising the All Black midfield. Owen Farrell kicked 17 points, Wood was player of the match.
England had lost to Australia and South Africa on the two previous Saturdays. They had one win in five. Stuart Lancaster picked a team with a combined 206 caps. New Zealand, world champions and unbeaten in 20 matches, had 788.
“The thing that stands out for me, looking back, was actually belief,” says Wood. “I and most of that team didn’t carry the baggage of losses to the All Blacks. We were all fairly fresh faced and new to it.
“I remember being quite taken aback that the media seemed shocked at my confidence in interviews in the build up. It was genuine, not for show. That was my mindset.
“We’d lost narrowly to South Africa in a game we could and should have won. I felt there was much more to come from the team and we were due a big performance.”
The clue that it would be no ordinary afternoon came early, with the great Dan Carter missing two shots at goal he would expect to kick in his sleep. Farrell kicked three and added a drop goal. England led 12-0 at half-time. It was the first time in 14 years New Zealand had changed ends pointless.
“Every team comes out swinging against them, every team fires into them,” says Wood. “And then the inevitable. The All Black machine starts rolling, the momentum’s taken away and they score however many tries to put the game to bed.
“So when our 15-point lead was cut to one by two converted tries in three minutes early in the second half, you can imagine the crowd, everybody in the stadium, including the All Blacks, beginning to think, ‘Here we go, England have had their little run at it, they’ve had a bit of fun, the real All Blacks are here now’.
“That day it felt like we beat them twice. To wrest the momentum back, to again get into a winning position is something, to this day, I feel incredibly proud about. It’s one of the standout moments in my career.”
Wood is a huge fan of New Zealand, the country, and all its aspects. In his teenage years he took himself off to north Otago to play club rugby in Oamaru, and work as a farm labourer.
The experience shaped him as a player and left him with enormous respect for Kiwi rugby. So much so, that when England pulled away in the last half hour that December day 13 winters ago, he almost had to pinch himself.
“As we took back control of the game you could see it dawning on some of their big big names that they weren’t going to win,” he recalls.
“I remember packing down on the opposite side of the scrum to the likes of Richie McCaw and Kieran Read, huge heroes of mine, guys I’d grown up watching.
“It was a privilege to be on the pitch with them. But at that moment I saw the blood drain out of their faces as they realised the game wasn’t going to go their way. I had a wry smile to myself thinking, ‘we’ve got them’.”
England backing
The two Toms would not taste victory against New Zealand again. They therefore know both the task facing Steve Borthwick’s class of 2025 and the magnitude of achievement should they be successful.
“They’ve got momentum and they’re playing well,” says Youngs. “There’s a good combination of bench and starters. I like it a lot. You’re seeing a team growing more and more.
“I think England will win. They have been so close the last two times. That draw in 2024, a missed kick and a scrum that unfortunately went backwards last year. I just feel this is their time.”
Wood says he felt that way every time he came up against the All Blacks. “I always thought we were capable of beating them,” he remembers, “yet we never did again.”
Testimony, if any was needed, of how tough a nut the All Blacks are to crack. Eight wins in 46 meetings across 120 years is England’s return from this fixture. The bookies have them down as favourites. We’ve been here before.
The ‘745’ cross-code game raised more than £100,000 towards the fight to end motor neurone disease. You can still donate here.