Tindall to convince England's young guns that All Blacks are not invincible - Sport - Evening Standard
       

Tindall to convince England's young guns that All Blacks are not invincible

Mike Tindall will spend the next week trying to convince England's beaten youngsters the All Blacks are not invincible.  

England travelled to Christchurch today bruised in body and mind after a 37-20 defeat by New Zealand yesterday that was more emphatic than the scoreline suggested. 

The All Blacks weathered England's early forward dominance and then scored 34 points in only 21 minutes either side of the interval, rendering Topsy Ojo's double on debut mere consolation.  

Chasing: New Zealand's Ma'a Nonu races Mike Tindall (right)

Chasing: New Zealand's Ma'a Nonu races Mike Tindall (right)

Tindall cut a frustrated figure at the manner in which the All Blacks exploited glaring defensive errors - but he insists England can perform a remarkable turnaround in the space of seven days. 

Tindall said: "We have to believe that or what is the point in being here? If I didn't believe we were good enough to compete on this level why would I be playing? 

"New Zealand made it hard but I don't think they are invincible. That is for us to try and prove next week.  

"The worst thing is you don't feel like they earned it. They just walked though our defensive line.  

"It is more frustrating than anything. We made a lot of errors and they are the most clinical team in world rugby. 

"I believe we didn't present all we have. We saw glimpses of it in the first 20 minutes when we should have scored but after that we were pretty average.  

"We didn't really have a go until the last 15 minutes. We have great forwards who can carry the ball and we didn't get them into the game. 

"We need to find ways to get runners into the game. We have got a team built for fast ball. The All Blacks make it hard but we need to get it."  

All Blacks' Ma'a Nonu fends off Hodgson before his substitution

All Blacks' Ma'a Nonu fends off Hodgson before his substitution

The post-match debrief will have been painful for a number of players, not least Charlie Hodgson, whose defensive deficiencies were shown up by Ma'a Nonu before he was replaced after only 50 minutes.  

But he was not alone. England conceded three of the four tries directly from set-pieces, which left defence coach Mike Ford "embarrassed".  

Tindall, the oldest member of England's new-look starting XV at 29, stated it was unacceptable at Test level.  

"It wasn't a lack of composure. That doesn't come into it when you can't defend set-pieces. That is just accuracy," he said.  

"You work on defence all week and then it doesn't stack up on the field. It is frustrating because it wasn't even anything spectacular (from New Zealand).  

"This was the first outing of a new squad and it didn't go very well.  

"Steve (Borthwick, the captain) and I will have to take a look at the game, sit down with the coaches, work out what we will do next week and come up with a gameplan.  

"A lot of the problems were based around mistakes and set-piece defence. We did not build on that first 20 minutes and we need to find a way to change that.  

"It is about hard work and about being wise."

Comments

Don't Miss
Rock star: Erin Wasson

Rock star

Erin Wasson is the ultimate anti-supermodel
Maybe it’s because she’s a Londoner … Happy anniversary, Ma’am

Happy anniversary

The monarchy has become stronger and more respected in the past 60 years
Victoria Coren: My obsession with children, five proposals a week and why David and I are no power couple

Victoria Coren

David Mitchell and I are no power couple
The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition preview party

Summer party

Stars at the The Royal Academy of Arts
London gets ready for the Diamond Jubilee - in pictures

Diamond Jubilee

London gets ready - in pictures
The Glamour Awards - stars turn on the style

Glamour Awards

Stars turn on the style
Duchess of Cambridge is pretty in pink at her first Buckingham Palace garden party

Garden party

Duchess of Cambridge is pretty in pink
FIRST review of Ridley Scott's latest sci-fi blockbuster Prometheus

First review

Is Ridley Scott's Prometheus any good?
Fair-weather goths

Fair-weather goths

The sultry shades of summer darks are coming out of the shadows
Dog save the Queen: Corgis surge in popularity

Dog save the Queen

Corgis surge in popularity