We’re in the final stretch now, Ireland have pulled up lame and can only watch as the pre-tournament favourites stretch their legs and reach for their extra gears.
It’s semi-final weekend at the Rugby World Cup and while that means there are two massive matches afoot, one of them stands head and shoulders above the other as an enticing prospect.
It’s the meeting of the winners of three of the last four World Cups, northern hemisphere v the pride of the south, Jones v Hansen, champions v challengers, a fern and a rose, All Black v white.
England v New Zealand is kicking off at 9am.
So strap yourself in and lock your channel onto eir Sport, RTE or ITV.
Here are your runners and riders for the big one then.
England have diverted to their dual playmaker plan with George Ford at 10 alongside Owen Farrell, going some way to match the Kiwi threat brought by Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett.
The packs are intriguing too, with Scott Barrett added to the All Black back row for an extra physical presence and a line-out option.
England:
15. Elliot Daly
14. Anthony Watson
13. Manu Tuilagi
12. Owen Farrell (captain)
11. Jonny May
10. George Ford
9. Ben Youngs
1. Mako Vunipola
2. Jamie George
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Maro Itoje
5. Courtney Lawes
6. Tom Curry
7. Sam Underhill
8. Billy Vunipola
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Joe Marler
18. Dan Cole
19. George Kruis
20. Mark Wilson
21. Willi Heinz
22. Henry Slade
23. Jonathan Joseph
New Zealand:
15. Beauden Barrett
14. Sevu Reece
13. Jack Goodhue
12. Anton Lienert-Brown
11. George Bridge
10. Richie Mo’unga
9. Aaron Smith
1. Joe Moody
2. Codie Taylor
3. Nepo Laulala
4. Brodie Retallick
5. Sam Whitelock
6. Scott Barrett
7. Ardie Savea
8. Kieran Read (captain)
Replacements:
16. Dane Coles
17. Ofa Tuungafasi
18. Angus Ta’avao
19. Patrick Tuipulotu
20. Sam Cane
21. TJ Perenara
22. Sonny Bill Williams
23. Jordie Barrett
Referee: Nigel Owens [Wales].
The anthems have left the larynxes and a roar of anticipation goes up in Yokohama. The Haka is next.
England have adopted a V formation to greet the haka, with two tips on halfway converging back to, I think, Owen Farrell 10 metres back.
There it is now.
But enough about choreography, it’s time for the rugby.
KICK-OFF:
England you sense will keep throwing all sorts of misdirection at the Kiwis.
Kick off comes from Owen Farrell after he’s tossed the ball by Ford.
TRY! England 7 New Zealand 0 (Tuilagi ’2)
What an absolutely sensational start from Eddie Jones’ men. Elliot Daly makes a break through Mo’unga on the right and England don’t let up once they’re on the front foot.
Big carries from Vunipola, Sinckler, Lawes bring England right to the line and Manu Tuilagi is perfectly placed to jump over the whitewash.
New Zealand are rocked early here. England come in waves again and are threatening for another score.
This feels so eerily similar to the way they started the Six Nations in Dublin.
New Zealand survive as Jack Goodhue sweeps up a grubber in behind and the centre does brilliantly to scramble an extra few lines up the touchline rather than be bundled over it.
This is an absolute thriller of a Test match.
New Zealand break from their 22 with Goodhue and look in great shap on the counter until Beauden Barrett is intercepted on halfway.
It’s not a fatal error, Jonny May is shut down by Savea out on the left and Farrell knocks on.
Apologies, I was over-excited and thrown by the number of the jersey – and the bloody speed of the track back – but it was Scott Barrett (!) who shut down May, not Savea.
This ex-Crusaders coach was impressed.
England line up their big men for big carries in midfield. They go left and then go short-side again where Farrell backs himself rather than pass.
Little Aaron Smith is the first man in to jackal and he blasted by a clear-out, but not before flipping up a turnover.
A rare penalty breather in this game as England are pinged for going off their feet.
The ABs try to play some ambitious offloading rugby on advantage, but we go back for Mo’unga to kick to the 22.
They will be absolutely delighted to finally have an attacking platform…. BUT THERE’S COURTNEY ‘Michael’ LAWES with a steal on the line-out.
England coming up with all the answers so far.
New Zealand have had to do an awful lot of defending.
Irish fans are still out in force in Japan.
TRY! England 12 New Zealand 0 (Underhill ’24)
Underhill is in after an outrageous dummy from Sinckler, but there’s a big call for the TMO as he looks for obstruction.
NO TRY!
They’ve chalked it off for obstruction as Curry is pinged for ‘not being in a position to receive the pass’.
Either way, that’s a sensational dummy from tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler.
So we remain at a one-score game.
England 7 New Zealand 0
And just as we were about to say only Eddie Jones’ men look like scoring, Brodie Retallick breaks in midfield and eats up 30 yards.
He throws an absolute shocker of a pass, but Beauden Barrett goes some way to cancelling it out as he flips a gorgeous offload into Goodhue’s arms.
He’s bundled into touch and England clear their lines after the throw.
Errors just starting to seep in after a massively intense first 30 minutes.
Lawes takes the England line-out and it goes to ground behind Youngs.
Unfortunately for New Zealand, Retallick commits another handling error and then the scrum ships a penalty allowing Elliot Daly to send a searching kick up the line.
George Ford has a good effort at the drop goal, as it leaves his boot he can almost see the Queen honouring him an OBE, but the ball begins to trail right and wide.
New Zealand still struggling to come up with a problem England can’t solve.
Barrett grubbers up the left and Watson brings it in. The Kiwis counter-ruck brilliantly, but still England hold on and after another kicking exchange Nigel Owens’ arm points for another England penalty on the England 10 metre line. Ford kicks for touch.
A huge line-out steal now for New Zealand and they go wide.
They make big ground on the first two phases, but Mo’unga’s options are all shut down by England’s line speed and he’s forced back inside and England win a penalty as the carrier is isolated.
Farrell is holding a dead leg, so Ford will kick at goal.
PENALTY! England 10 New Zealand 0 (Ford ’39)
HALF-TIME: England 10 New Zealand 0
That’s a hell of an omen for England.
This has been an absolute astounding display from England so far.
They’ve kept New Zealand scoreless through 40 before, when Stuart Lancaster’s side beat them.
Reports of heavy rain now in Yokohama from the men who are working hard through this game. Not the conditions you want when you’re an All Black side who want to run from deep.
Sam Cane has been thrown into the mix by Hansen, will that be enough to counteract the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ of Curry and Underhill.
Restart is poor, but England kick away cheaply and New Zealand look happy enough running wide through Reece and Codie Taylor.
Whitelock pinged on halfway and Elliott Daly will have a go from distance.
The fullback had the distance, but it trails a metre left of the posts.
But there’s Daly chasing a high ball from Ford England pile the pressure back on.
It’s not a clean take, but Lawes takes it on and New Zealand are in do or die territory now.
Their long unbeaten run at the World Cup – going all the way back to 2007 – is in extreme danger.
TRY! England 15 New Zealand 0 (Youngs ’45)
A huge penalty goes England’s way as New Zealand try too hard to force offloads in their own territory and England show some amount of balls to go for the corner.
They maul and Youngs sneaks through for the score… but we’re with the TMO.
Hold on now..
NO TRY!
Another massive sigh of relief for New Zealand and another massively frustrating slip for England as they seemed read to push on and close the game out.
The TMO spots a knock on in the maul. The ball comes dislodged from the carrier and is regathered by the man in front of him.
We’re still at England 10 New Zealand 0
Different half, very similar pattern. New Zealand can’t find a way to get out of their own territory and Tom Curry and Maro Itoje are leading the effort to smother every spark from a black shirt.
PENALTY! England 13 New Zealand 0 (Ford ‘ 49)
Hansen is throwing the dice all over the place now.
Dane Coles and Jordie Barrett are in the game. George Bridge is withdrawn from the back-line.
Sonny Bill still held in reserve.
Sevu Reece might just have saved the All Blacks.
Another big white maul pins NZ back and England scorch wide. A grubber kick to the corner is almost reached by Slade, but the controversial Crusaders wing gets there a millisecond before him.
New Zealand kick a penalty to gain a rare platform in English territory… and here comes Sonny Bill.
It’s a good platform and they’re making inroads in that white wall, until Sam Underhill unleashes a vicious hit to rock them back.
Barrett’s kick is blocked, but he gets a lucky bounce and the black jerseys flow back.
Reece breaks for the line, but he’s bundled to touch.
Slade’s hit on him looked to feature zero arms, so the TMO will have a look.
Nigel and the TMO say there was an attempt to wrap, so we go to an England line-out on their five-metre line.
TRY! England 13 New Zealand 5 (Savea ’55)
After all that effort, all that precision and perfection. England throw an absolute gift to Ardie Savea, Jamie George throws to the back, Itoje leaps at the front and Savea leaps over the line.
Mo’unga adds the extras.
England 13 New Zealand 7
New Zealand have been out-muscled and out-thought all night long, but they’re still only a converted try from taking this game over.
England flick the switch back on. Jordie Barrett coughs it up in his own third and mount massive pressure on the Kiwi line.
The pressure ends in a knock-on, but it was on advantage. Ford can stretch the lead outside of a single score here.
PENALTY! England 16 New Zealand 7 (Ford ’62)
Ardie Savea is struggling with a knee issue now to compound All Black issues. He looks like he’s pleading with the medics to pass him fit.
The Barrett bros really pushing for width when England kick a long touch, but at this stage they don’t seem to have the stamina to inject energy into the attack.
A pass from Lienert-Brown should have been called forward and there’s another poor pass to Reece when the play flows back right.
A big penalty reversal goes against Sam Whitelock for a shove to Owen Farrell’s face.
A two-score game and, with 13 minutes left, time is really running out even for an attacking force as hitherto irresistible as theirs.
PENALTY! England 19 New Zealand 7 (Ford ’68)
And another decision goes against a very frustrated and dispirited looking Kiwi pack.
Ford’s goal-kicking has been flawless today. No easy task to take the tee with Owen Farrell glaring at you.
There’s a flash of the New Zealand we all admire so much. Reece and TJ Perenara fashion an opening on the right and Dane Coles romps away to the 22.
But he’s isolated and the most unheralded of England players, Mark Wilson, comes up with a big penalty win.
12 points, nine minutes. That’s surely the game over for New Zealand.
There’s no drama for you here, no miraculous comeback.
New Zealand have one freak score on the board and England are still pushing for more.
Ford narrowly misses a penalty to make it 22-7 and Beauden Barrett storms out from behind the posts.
FULL-TIME: England 19 New Zealand 7
Four years on from going out at the pool stage, England are in the World Cup final!
That was utterly exhausting to watch.
England dominated from minute one and blew New Zealand back at every opportunity while keeping a clever Saracens-style attacking shape to keep the black line guessing.
Eddie Jones is 80 minutes away from delivering a second World Cup to England.
Wales or South Africa will stand in their way next Saturday.
