England beat the All Blacks for the 9th time in 120 years of international competition between the two sides.

The rivalry between Rugby Union’s most successful ever side and the country that birthed sport has a long and illustrious history. Of the 47 matches played between the two, England have (as of today) won nine, two have ended in draws (which are generally quite rare in rugby), and NZ have won the rest. The last time England beat NZ was in their iconic 2019 RWC semi-final win in Japan, though a close-fought 25-25 draw has also since happened in London in 2022.

Today though, things were different. England relying on a mixture of experience and young talent managed to secure a 33-19 victory over the NZ side that seems to be in a slight slump at the moment (though being honest this doesn’t mean a great deal when we’re talking about the single most successful side in international rugby). On a personal note, I am particularly proud of my Saints boys, especially Dingwall and Mitch, who proved that you don’t have to be from a utopia to play international rugby. For those of you who don’t watch the (maybe) second biggest international sport on the planet, I highly recommend checking out the highlights for this one.