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England vs. New Zealand: Classic encounters

England v New Zealand classic encounters

England will face New Zealand in Yokohama next Saturday with a place in the Rugby World Cup final at stake.

The Red Rose have played the All Blacks 41 times, with New Zealand dominating the fixture having won 33 clashes to England's seven, with one drawn match.

New Zealand have claimed victory in the last six games between the two sides dating back to November 2013 and here, the PA news agency looks at five of the all-time classic encounters between the rivals for the all-important World Cup final berth.

England 15 New Zealand 9 – November 27, 1993, Twickenham

EDWARD & WILL CARLING
Will Carling shakes hands with Prince Edward after England beat the All Blacks at Twickenham (Adam Butler/PA Archive)

Will Carling's England stunned a New Zealand side that were 7-1 favourites with the bookmakers to win at Twickenham. Debutant Jon Callard scored four penalties and along with Rob Andrew's drop-goal they were enough to beat Sean Fitzpatrick's All Blacks, who were kept tryless. New Zealand flanker Jamie Joseph's stamp on Kyran Bracken's ankle administered the pain but England's pack held firm for an impressive victory.

England 29 New Zealand 45 – June 18, 1995, Rugby World Cup semi-final, Cape Town

England v New Zealand – Semi-Final – Rugby World Cup – Cape Town
England wing Tony Underwood, left, feels the full force of Jonah Lomu in Cape Town (Adam Butler/PA Archive)

Jonah Lomu starred for New Zealand on the only other occasion the two sides have met in a World Cup semi-final. Lomu laid waste to the men in white, storming to the first of his four tries after just 70 seconds. Carling's team had no response to the All Blacks' 20-year-old 18 stone 8lb juggernaut and exited the tournament to a humbling defeat.

England 26 New Zealand 26 – December 6, 1997, Twickenham

RUGBYU Eng/Rees try 2
England's David Rees scored against the All Blacks (PA Archive/PA Images)

England raced to a 20-3 lead thanks to David Rees' wonder try, with Lawrence Dallaglio and Richard Hill also crossing the whitewash. However, New Zealand rallied with tries from Walter Little and Andrew Mehrtens, with England needing a late penalty by fly-half Paul Grayson to draw a pulsating match.

England 16 New Zealand 30 – October 9, 1999, Rugby World Cup pool match, Twickenham

WC RugbyU Eng/NZ 12
New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu hands off Jeremy Guscott and runs on to score his team's second try (Tom Hevezi/PA)

Another World Cup, another defeat at the hands of the towering Lomu. The scores were locked at 16-16 when Lomu took the ball on the wing and beat four defenders to score the decisive try which proved that lightning really can strike twice. From that point there was no way back for Clive Woodward's England, as New Zealand claimed a lead that they never relinquished.

England 31 New Zealand 22 – November 9, 2002, Twickenham

England v New Zealand
Jonny Wilkinson scored a try in a haul of 21 points against the All Blacks (David Davies/PA)

Jonny Wilkinson scored 21 points including a try as England began what turned out to be a clean sweep against the southern hemisphere sides in the autumn internationals. The Red Rose built a 31-14 lead with tries from Wilkinson, Ben Cohen and Lewis Moody before the All Blacks hit back with two late scores, including Lomu's second of the match. However, England held on to start a sequence which led to World Cup victory the following year.

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