New Zealand coach Steve Hansen praised England following their 38-21 victory over his side at Twickenham on Saturday.
The All Blacks recovered from a virus picked up in mid-week but were second best against England at Twickenham, but Hansen remained proud of his players for a fantastic year.
"England should be very proud of what they achieved," he said.
"We tested them and they responded. I know we've fallen over today but eventually our boys should reflect on what happened this year and be proud of what they've achieved.
"Dan [Carter] trained and kicked well, although he missed a couple that normally you would think he'd get. I don't think you can use his injury as an excuse, we just got beaten by a better side.
"I find it interesting that everyone is surprised. This is a good England side and people should back them. It won't be plain sailing all the time and if you back them, they will get better.
"Two teams were capable of winning the Rugby World Cup out there. We will go away and work out where we can get better.
England captain Richie McCaw ruled out that the bug New Zealand picked up in the week had an effect, stating that despite the loss the All Blacks should be proud of what they have achieved in 2012.
"I don't think the sickness was a factor," he revealed.
"I felt fine in that department. They kept the scoreboard ticking over and apart from that period when we scored we were on the back foot."
McCaw is now set to take a six-month sabbatical from the sport and admitted his frustration at going out on a losing note.
"It's going to be disappointing there's no doubt," he said.
"But you can't do anything about it right now and when the boys do get over it, we'll come back next year and there will be something to remind us what it's all about, which is a small positive for next year. Once you get past today, it hasn't been a bad year.
"England will get better from this experience and they're going to be a good team. The more you play the more you understand what it takes to win consistently."
Comments
APV1 says...
@ wfgwoody - well said. Although I might get a little suicidal, on occassion...
;-)
Posted 13:59 05th December 2012
kybone says...
Are we gonna be hearing about this bloody flu bug until the next time NZ beat England. Just accept the result. I think we can all agree that NZ weren't at their best, but there was more too it than simply having the flew 3 or 4 days earlier. For a start, i refuse to believe that all except 2 players caught it. I was once in the army, where you're obviously just as tight knit as a rugby squad, and when someone caught the flu we didn't all get it. In fact it was probably as little as 20% of us that caught it. There were plenty of players on the field that seemed completely fine to me. The whole NZ team, in fact, had a couple of spells in the game where they appeared their usual selves. It's ok though. I realise how difficult it is for some people to bring themselves to admit that England are anything more than rubbish and pathetic. Makes me wonder what will happen if and when England start to beat you on a regular basis. The sound of excuses will be deafening!
Posted 18:08 04th December 2012
hellovanite says...
England way to good on the day... nuff said
Posted 04:56 04th December 2012
cuw3100 says...
Isn't it nice of McCaw to take the defeat on the chin and not blame it on the virus that left the whole team (still dont know if the 2 guys who did not get affected played the match) sick for 2 days.
Any one with little medical experience will know that dehydration caused by vomiting, purging and very little solid food will take at least 2 weeks to recover. We are talking about prime athletes who are on specific calory intake diets and fitness training schedules.
I remember one quote from Bruce Lee, the master of Jeet Kun Do. He said about training and fitness ; "It will take you six months of daily trianing to achieve peak physical fitness but only 6 days of inactivity to lose it all!"
Posted 04:01 04th December 2012
wfgwoody says...
It is amazing what a week can do in sport. Goes from being the best AB team in history, to old and tired. I understand it is a 24 hour news cycle now and that monster has to be feed so people like me/you have articles to read every few hours. Yes I am addicted.to PR.
But it is mostly just infotainment.
Did the Black Caps beat the Aussie Cricket team in a test in Hobart. Yes. Lesser teams can have their day once in a while. But if you played that test ten times the Aussies would win it 9 times out of ten.
Did the Kiwis win the Rugby League World Cup? Sure. But if you had to put a team on fthe field to play a game for your life. Any sane person would pick the Kangaroos. They dont win every test but pretty close.
All the major international sports now have rankings. These are formulars devised by very smart blokes to tell us over any decent period of time who is the best team in that sport. The All Blacks have now been at the top of the rankings for 3 years. They have won about 85 percent of games. An incredible win rate. But that also mean they lose/draw 15 percent of.the time. But if.you had to put a team on the field for you to play for.your life would it be black or white? Only a suicide would pick white. England may become a great team and win the world.cup at.home.in three years but they will have to grind up the world.rankings. One off wins every decade or so will not do it.
Posted 01:04 04th December 2012
Bronco says...
"England captain Richie McCaw" - heheh, you wish!
Great game by England, a wakeup call is never a bad thing for an All Black side.
Posted 00:56 04th December 2012
Philly says...
kybone ,the fact that England managed to put 38 points on the board says how much difference having the flu makes... You can never play 100% with the flu....
Posted 22:33 03rd December 2012
BillyMutt2 says...
Well done to both Steve Hansen and Richie McCaw - no excuses, take it on the chin and move on. Richie McCaw showing how it's done again, what a player and captain he is. One of the greatest to ever play the game.
Posted 20:27 03rd December 2012
Webbie says...
Well played England. Deserved winners on the day. There is no question in my mind that the mid week noro virus had an impact. The All Blacks were operating at 60 - 70% of their usual intensity.
Even without the noro virus the AB's may not have won the match but it would have been a lot closer than the score etched in the rugby annals.
Posted 19:50 03rd December 2012
APV1 says...
@ Benny - you've got to realise that some of the 1.99m registered players in England are fat knackers like me. I strap on my boots for the 3XV each weekend, run around, get muddy and bruised and, quite often, lose. But I love the game and want to keep playing it. In my late 30's I'm one of the younger members of our team. One of our props is over 60! But we're all registered with the RFU, as we have to be for Club insurance and so on. It doesn't mean that we're ever likely (or were ever likely) to get called up to the EPS. For Goodness' sake, we'll not even be drafted into the 2XV!!!
Posted 17:45 03rd December 2012
kybone says...
Nice to see some of the AB's supporters can be gracious in defeat. To all those blaming the flu, come off it! I didn't realise that the flu makes you throw intercept passes, take quick tap pens when its not on, and miss easy kicks at goal. It seems that the flu bug wore off a little around the 50 minute mark and then again for the last 8 minutes of the game- one of those intermittent flu bugs!
Posted 14:51 03rd December 2012
Benny says...
Doldennut, i have been thinking the same thing about AIG. The performances, the foul play, and our 7s team has also been having a bad run.
But about the money, there is none. NZ is a tiny market. I'm not sure if believe the IRB stats but they claim number of players in each country is as follows: England 1.99m, RSA 651,000, France 361,000, NZ 147,000. It's not easy making money in a small, saturated and not overly wealthy market that is completely globalised. They've had to be a little ruthless by selling the shirt, holding the IRB over a barrel and squeezing cash from the England tests.
Posted 14:39 03rd December 2012
Philly says...
Armchair , I have had the 24 hour bug and it is anything but..... It knocks you flat... for at least 3-4 days....
Posted 14:21 03rd December 2012
Phill_Moore says...
@Iyhel, your supply of sour grapes must be huge. I've got news for you: You-lost-the-RWC. Face it.
And McCaw did acknowledge the hard opposition, even if he didn't sweet-talk them. Let's see you praising guys like A. Gougerie that nearly left you blind.
Whatever the reason, England were the better team and took their chances. Good talk from McCaw. Character shows best in defeat, and he doesn't get many chances to show that side of his character these days.
Coming from a man that played, and won, an entire tournament with a broken foot, it's hard to believe the virus didn't have any effect, science shows otherwise, especially when the ABs didn't oppose much resistance, bar for 5 mins at the beginning of the 2nd half. Good on them for fronting up. We'll have to wait for McCaw's second book to read the full story, lol, If he bothers writing about a November test that is.
And I agree with those saying the AB defense has been weaker and weaker. Foster is no Wayne Smith. Results at SXV level already suggested so.
Posted 12:50 03rd December 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
It wasn't a flu. It was a 24 hour bug on i think Tuesday. I know people who had it and didn't even take a day off. Richie is being honest. He doesn't want to undermine when illness will be/was a real issue as in the WC final in SAf. Even then SAf only scored I think 9 points. It's mean spirited of those hateful fans to take this from England but it can only motivate Eng to prove themselves again.
Posted 12:34 03rd December 2012
lawynd says...
@zambokke - there's one Englishman here happy to hold his hands up and say that Barritt played a blinder. He and Farrell didn't play how I see them play week in, week out for Sarries and I wonder if that wasn't a factor in their performances.
Manu99, paulynz, ruckingkiwi, et al. Fantastic comments, completely agree. I'm sure the All Blacks will be back with a bang, and I wouldn't fancy being their first opponents of 2013! All the best and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) seeing the Highlanders make the playoffs next year.
Posted 10:48 03rd December 2012
Propmelsey says...
England are looking like they are getting very close to fulfilling their obvious potential on the back of that performance against a very very good New Zealand team. Not quite there yet but very encouraging for England fans going into a really important 6 Nations Tournament. They still have plenty of room for imrovement, and will need to do just that to compete against the best of the Northern Hemisphere..... All that said .. a really compentent 80 minutes from 1 to 15 .... Well Done!! ... And Very well done to New Zealand too. They played incredibly well and i'm sure they can take a lot from their day at Twickenham!!
Posted 10:01 03rd December 2012
zambokke says...
The NZ staff and players have behaved with dignity - no excuses and gracious in defeat. Hats off to them. England were very good and looked more like the ABs than the actual ABs - these things happen once in a while. England will be hoping for consistency now; can they keep it up? Well done to the Pommies though. (Hopefully all of those negative comments re Barritt may change?)
Posted 09:27 03rd December 2012
Philly says...
Kudos to McCaw, he is man enough to never admit to it. And full respect ..But it doesn't matter who you are, no one can ever play 100% when you have the flu.... It totally knocks you about....
Sharkies, washing your hands isn't gonna stop you getting the flu. I have gotten the flu more than once when in Scotland, it knocks you for a six. I am amazed the ABS even managed to play.....
Posted 09:05 03rd December 2012
Manu99 says...
Game well played England, defeat never tastes good but in the footsteps of McCaw we will cop on the chin that you were better on the day ... Congratulations England. To all my fellow so-called AB supporters on here ... Very disappointed in your form aye! I don't know if more disappointed with the oppositions nasty comments or with yours. You fellas should know better. We will stay to doing our talking on the field, its always been like that so keep it that way ... 1 bad game does not warrant your armchaira panic attacks, pull your heads out and congratulate the opposition and then your own boys who (yes) get paid a lot of dosh but then also deserve it due to the high demands of pro rugby and the fact they play to represent idiots like you lot. C'mon man, grow up!!
Posted 23:08 02nd December 2012