England raised their standards in levelling conditions against a New Zealand side comparatively weak at the sharp end and still finished a distant second, writes Chris Hewett in the Independent.
"When the All Blacks were in possession, the Twickenham pitch seemed twice its normal size. When England had the ball, which was often, there was a postage-stamp look to it. The only time the home side seriously threatened was when Steve Thompson, the replacement hooker, worked a front-of-the-line move with the excellent Simon Shaw and trundled towards the right corner. He was hauled down a few metres short by Carter, who then made a second try-saving tackle on Duncan Bell.
"And so it was that the Twickenham crowd slouched off home, having seen little to tickle their fancy apart from a comical scrap between Thompson and Adam Thomson – an incident straight from the pages of Tintin. This seemed entirely appropriate, given the England management's protestations of progress would not have looked out of place in a comic book."
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