England vs New Zealand - 2nd Test

[EaglesDontTweet]

Didn't see Taupau second half @globaleagle, not needed or injured? Did you see anything?

 

[globaleagle]

Didn't see Taupau second half @globaleagle, not needed or injured? Did you see anything?

No, I didn't see or hear anything. My pic was a bit blurry (I was streaming the game) but the commentators didn't mention a thing. to busy keeping us updated on all the mistakes in the game I think.

 

[HoldenV8]

Official attendance was 44,393.

It is the largest stand alone crowd ever for an England vs NZ test match (the record of 67,545 was set during the 2013 RLWC Semi-final double header at Wembley). The previous stand alone record (in England) was 23,526 set in the first test of this series.

 

[Jax24]

Real tough win for the Kiwi's and a scrappy but physical encounter. NZ probably blew a few more chances but England did as well. Top notch defence by both teams though.

Main reason NZ won I thought was this time their forwards turned up and got the better of the English pack. Much like the English in the first test that was helped by winning the possession and territory battle. Also the Kiwi's kicking game was much better than in the previous games and especially in the second half.

I think Nikorima and Peta looked a much better halves combo than with Lolohea. While Nikorima made the odd error and just missed out scoring, he did play a big part in the only try. He also complimented Peta better as Kodi is a much more natural playmaker while Peta is obviously more of a running 5/8. Nikorima's introduction to the halves was another key change that lead to win along with Brown and Glenn coming onto the bench bringing much needed experience.

In regards to how our Manly boys went I thought Peta had a solid game and probably his best so far at 5/8. He seems to be getting more comfortable and gaining more confidence playing there. His link play with the backline is improving. He nearly scored a try and bar a couple of misguided kicks I thought his general play kicking was alright. He forced 2 dropouts with deft grubbers in the second half.

As for Taupau, well he didn't really play too much and again was just used as an impact forward. Ran the ball hard like he normally does and made a few tackles. Kearney doesn't seem to want him playing big minutes it appears for whatever reason.

Lewis Brown made the 17 and actually played today. I thought he had a solid little cameo off the bench. Defended well close to the line even stopping Tom Burgess and also ran well at dummy half while Luke had a spell on the bench. His experience off the bench proved vital.

Well done Kiwi's and looking forward to a decider now!!!