It rained. Of course, it rained.
Twickenham in November usually feels like a damp, grey pressure cooker, but on November 10, 2018, the atmosphere was different. This wasn't just another autumn international. This was the first time the All Blacks and England had faced off in four years. For context, four years in rugby is a lifetime. In that gap, New Zealand had won a World Cup and England had gone from a pool-stage exit embarrassment to a 18-match winning streak under Eddie Jones.
Everyone wanted to know: could England actually bully the world champions?
The short answer is they almost did. The long answer involves a disallowed try, a controversial 15th-minute substitution, and a scoreboard that felt like it was lying when the final whistle blew at 15-16.
The Haka, the V, and the Mental Warfare of New Zealand vs England Rugby 2018
You remember the "V" formation, right? Wait, no—that was 2019. In 2018, the defiance was quieter but the tension was arguably higher. England stood their ground at the 10-metre line, staring down a New Zealand side that looked, frankly, invincible. Steve Hansen’s men were coming off years of dominance.
England started like a house on fire.
Most teams try to "weather the storm" against the All Blacks. England decided to be the storm. Within two minutes, Chris Ashton—making his first start in four years—dived into the corner after a beautiful long pass from Ben Youngs. The stadium erupted. It was the kind of noise that makes your ears ring for an hour.
Dylan Hartley and his pack were playing with a level of aggression that seemed to catch the Kiwis off guard. By the 24th minute, England were up 15-0. Read that again. Fifteen to zero against the best team on the planet. Honestly, it felt like the world was tilting. England’s Maro Itoje was everywhere, disrupting lineouts and being a general nuisance in the ruck. Sam Underhill was tackling anything that moved.
But here’s the thing about New Zealand vs England rugby 2018: you can never, ever let the All Blacks breathe.
The Comeback That Nobody (and Everybody) Saw Coming
New Zealand didn't panic. They don't do panic.
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They slowly started squeezing. It began with a Damian McKenzie try in the 38th minute. Beauden Barrett, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, started pulling strings. He slotted a drop goal—a rarity for the All Blacks—just before halftime. Suddenly, that 15-point lead was cut to 15-10.
The momentum shift was palpable.
You’ve probably seen games where one team dominates the stats but loses the scoreboard. This was the opposite. England were winning the physical battle, but the All Blacks were winning the "moments." In the second half, the rain got heavier. Handling became a nightmare.
The All Blacks took the lead via two Barrett penalties. 15-16.
Then came the moment that still gets debated in pubs from Richmond to Rotorua.
The Sam Underhill "Try" and the TMO Drama
With about five minutes left on the clock, Courtney Lawes charged down a TJ Perenara box kick. The ball loomed in the air. Sam Underhill, the young flanker who had played the game of his life, scooped it up.
He didn't just run; he danced.
Underhill stepped inside Beauden Barrett—literally sending the world's best player to the turf—and dove over for what looked like the winning try. Twickenham turned into a literal earthquake of sound. England fans thought they had done it.
But then, the dreaded "T" formed by the referee's hands.
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Marius Mitrea, the referee, went to the Television Match Official (TMO). Upon review, Courtney Lawes was judged to be a fraction of an inch offside when he charged the ball down. The margin was microscopic. If Lawes had been two centimeters further back, England wins that game.
The try was chalked off. The stadium went from a fever pitch to a funeral in three seconds flat.
Why the Tactics Mattered More Than the Score
If you look at the raw data of New Zealand vs England rugby 2018, England actually outperformed the All Blacks in several key areas. They won more turnovers. They made more dominant tackles.
But the All Blacks' bench—the "Finishers" as they call them—changed the game. Codie Taylor and Scott Barrett came on and stabilized a scrum that had been wobbling.
There's also the matter of the weather.
Rain is supposed to be "English weather," but the All Blacks are masters of the territorial kick-chase. In the second half, they pinned England deep in their own 22. Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell struggled to clear their lines effectively under the suffocating pressure of the New Zealand defensive line.
Kieran Read, the All Blacks captain, later remarked that it was one of the toughest tests his side had faced in years. He wasn't lying. England’s defensive coach at the time, John Mitchell (ironically a former All Blacks coach), had designed a system that specifically targeted New Zealand's playmaker pods. It worked, mostly.
But against New Zealand, "mostly" isn't enough.
The Statistical Reality of the Match
While I'm not a fan of dry tables, we have to look at the numbers to see how weird this game was.
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- Possession: England had 51%.
- Territory: New Zealand had 53%.
- Tackles made: England made 148, New Zealand made 136.
- Penalties conceded: England gave away 8, New Zealand gave away 7.
Basically, it was a dead heat. The difference was one drop goal and a few inches on an offside call.
Some fans argue that England were robbed. Others say New Zealand showed the "heart of a champion" by clawing back from a 15-point deficit away from home. Honestly? It was probably both.
Lessons Learned for Modern Rugby
Looking back, this match was a massive turning point for Eddie Jones’ England. It gave them the blueprint they eventually used to dismantle the All Blacks in the 2019 World Cup semi-final. They realized that you can't out-skill New Zealand—you have to out-work them and physically dominate the gain line.
For New Zealand, it was a warning sign.
The "aura" was slipping, just a tiny bit. They were becoming reliant on individual brilliance (like McKenzie's line-breaking) rather than the clinical team structures that defined the Richie McCaw era.
What You Should Take Away From This Rivalry
If you're a student of the game, or just someone who loves a good scrap, the 2018 clash is a masterclass in game management.
- The first 20 minutes don't win the game. England's 15-0 lead was spectacular, but they spent too much energy maintaining it and couldn't close the door in the final quarter.
- Discipline is everything in the rain. England’s late-game penalties allowed Beauden Barrett to chip away at the lead without New Zealand having to work for tries.
- The TMO is the 31st player on the pitch. Love it or hate it, technology decided the outcome of this historic test match.
To really understand the current state of international rugby, you have to go back and watch the full replay of this match. It wasn't just a game; it was a shift in the global hierarchy. It proved that the All Blacks were human, and it proved that England, when they got their heads right, were the only Northern Hemisphere team capable of standing toe-to-toe with them in a physical slugfest.
If you want to dive deeper into the tactical evolution of these two teams, your next step should be to compare the defensive alignments from this 2018 match to the 2019 World Cup semi-final. Pay close attention to how England's "flankers" (Underhill and Curry) changed the way they hunted the ball-carrier between these two years. You'll see a clear progression from "close but no cigar" to total dominance.
Analyze the lineout movements from the final ten minutes of this game. You’ll notice how New Zealand used a shortened lineout to negate Maro Itoje’s reach—a tactic that has since become a standard response for teams facing elite jumpers.
The 2018 match wasn't just a scoreline. It was a 80-minute lesson in why rugby is the most complex, frustrating, and brilliant sport on earth.