Four Nations match report: England 20 -12 New Zealand - Hero Eorl as Engalnd rise to occasion
GIANTS hero Eorl Crabtree once again enhanced his growing reputation with another awesome international display to help England beat New Zealand 20-12 at the Galpharm Stadium.
After impressing from the bench against Australia at Wigan a week ago, the 27-year-old prop repeated the act with another two-spell stint that lifted his teammates and crowd alike.
But on this occasion his efforts were to gain a far higher reward.
Against the Kangaroos, his efforts couldn’t prevent his country from suffering a 26-16 defeat, but on Saturday Crabtree was on hand to help England gain revenge for their World Cup defeat to the Kiwis a year ago and set up a showdown with Australia in the final of the Gillette Four Nations at Leeds on Saturday.
It was the dream scenario for Crabtree, who was desperate to make a positive impact at his ‘home’ ground, in front of a crowd of 19,390.
And he believes he couldn’t have done much better.
"Saturday night was fantastic for me," said Crabtree, whose spells came between minutes 20 and 48 and then from the 65th to the 76th minute.
"I’ve helped us beat New Zealand and reach the Four Nations final at the Galpharm Stadium, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
"I was obviously desperate to play well in my hometown, and I think playing in such familiar surroundings helped me a lot.
"We all knew this was a massive ‘must-win’ game for us, but I felt really comfortable before the game, because I was in my own changing room and I even had my usual corner.
"And, to be honest, I also felt very comfortable when I came onto the field.
"Our starting forwards ripped in to the New Zealand pack really hard and were soon on top of them, so when I came on I was taking on a side that was already a bit tired.
"That helped my game, and I think I helped keep us on top. Although it was a really physical game, I thought I made a positive impact.
"I definitely enjoyed the experience, and the fact we won was obviously the best part of it all."
But in a game where the forwards ensured it became a war of attrition, the final outcome of the contest hung in the balance throughout.
England led from the 10th minute and seized control with Peter Fox’s two quickfire tries, but they were never able to relax against a fired-up Kiwis side determined to build on their World Cup triumph.
It was a victory for the tactics of England coach Tony Smith, whose late switch of Kevin Sinfield to hooker enabled him to start with the imposing Sam Burgess at loose forward and sparked a man-of-the-match display from the Leeds Rhinos captain.
Smith’s selection of four front-row forwards in his starting pack was a clear indication of England’s tactics, and they reaped a fruitful harvest down the middle of the field.
It was a demonstration not only of the strength of the current England side but the dearth of talent in their outside backs.
That may be exposed by Australia on Saturday.
But it was good enough to see off a New Zealand side who struggled to reach the heights of their performance against the Kangaroos.
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