England v New Zealand: Brad Barritt on how beating All Blacks creates ‘special feeling’
“There was electricity in the air at Twickenham,” recalled former England centre Brad Barritt.
“We were playing the world champions, a team littered with experience and a trophy cabinet the desire of most rugby players across the globe.
“We knew we faced a huge challenge but you just felt this special feeling brimming in the team.”
World number one side New Zealand, boasting household names Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, rocked up to Twickenham in December 2012 expecting to extend their unbeaten run to 21 matches.
Those outside of England’s camp gave them little hope of beating the All Blacks for the first time in nine years, but within Stuart Lancaster’s squad was a quiet sense of anticipation.
Barritt said there was a feeling among the players they were “due a big performance”.
What followed, was one of the finest performances in English rugby history and a record 38-21 win over New Zealand.
“We probably hadn’t had the results in that autumn series so it built to a crescendo facing an unstoppable All Blacks side, which was widely regarded as one of the best rugby teams ever,” the 38-year-old Barritt told BBC Sport.
New Zealand were heavy favourites but Owen Farrell’s ever-reliable boot rewarded his side for their set-piece dominance and gave the hosts a 15-0 lead at half-time.
Having last beaten their opponents in 2003, England were in unfamiliar territory holding the advantage at the break, but Barritt said they were disappointed not to be further in front.
“We probably didn’t execute some of the opportunities we created but we did build some scoreboard momentum,” he said.
“Everyone knew the opponents we were facing though, and how they were going to bounce back.”
English trepidation was quickly realised.
The world champions recovered after the interval and scored two quick tries through Julian Savea and Kieran Read to reduce the deficit to one point.
The seemingly inevitable comeback was almost complete.
“Suddenly you are at parity and having to restart the game,” added Barritt.
“But there was a still a lot of positivity among the players. We had barely fired a shot at New Zealand in the second half and wanted to get back on the front foot and execute on one of our plays.”
Three minutes after Read’s try, Barritt broke through in midfield before combining with centre partner Manu Tuilagi to score in the corner.
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