ENGLAND DISPLAY GROWING BELIEF

Coach sees 'a lot of positives' from 33-19 win over All Blacks ahead of World Cup draw

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When England famously beat New Zealand in 2003 with 13 men and won in Australia for the first time, it gave the squad an unswerving belief that they could beat anybody and months later they clinched their maiden Rugby World Cup.

Now, having beaten New Zealand 33-19 on Nov 15 after three narrow defeats in 2024 and taking their winning run to 10 matches, there is growing belief that they are equipped to make a serious assault on a second World Cup title in Australia in 2027.

It was England’s first victory over the All Blacks since the 2019 World Cup semifinals, arguably their greatest performance, and their first at home since Manu Tuilagi ran riot in 2012.

They lost in the 2019 final to South Africa and, against all odds, new coach Steve Borthwick took his team to within minutes of a return before losing by a point to the Springboks in the 2023 semis.

There was then a fair amount of pain and criticism as he tried to find ways to win in different styles, while building squad depth.