England culprit unmasked behind controversial New Zealand haka response | Rugby | Sport
England star Alex Mitchell has revealed that Jamie George was responsible for leading England’s response to New Zealand’s haka on Saturday. Steve Borthwick’s side overcame an early deficit to secure a famous victory against the All Blacks as they continued their rich vein of form during the autumn internationals.
Ahead of kick-off at Allianz Stadium Twickenham, New Zealand players were preparing to perform their customary haka near to the centre of the pitch.
And the England stars reacted by positioning themselves into a flying V shape before staring down their opponents.
Their actions seem to rouse the home supporters, who then decided to sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot during the dance.
After the match, Mitchell appeared on TNT Sports to offer his verdict on the contest. And after being asked whose idea it was to form the flying V shape, the scrum-half admitted: “I think it was Jamie George.
“I think we had a little meeting last night, as we always do, just to talk about our feelings and what not.
“I think he said it would get the crowd going and I think it did. The atmosphere and the noise was so loud wasn’t it. I think that gave us that extra boost and that’s always an amazing experience.”
New Zealand appeared to be running away with the game in the first half after Leicester Fainga’anuku and Codie Taylor crossed to put the visitors 12-0 ahead. But Ollie Lawrence hit back with a try, before George Ford added two drop goals.
The hosts then gained the advantage in the second half as Sam Underhill and Fraser Dingwall grounded. Will Jordan gave the away side a glimmer of hope midway through the second half, but Tom Roebuck scored a fourth for England to secure the win.
And Mitchell added: “It feels fantastic. Just coming into the stadium, the fans gave us that boost. They were extra loud today.
“We found a way to get a win. Going 12 points down, it’s always tough to do that against quality opposition. But we found a way, we dug in and got a result. We’re buzzing.
“To have someone like George Ford outside me makes the job so easy. He gets into the pocket and puts us in the right positions. The little things he does that a lot of people don’t see, like the talking off the ball, he’s fantastic. He’s the best in the world at the drop goal game. It’s been fantastic to play alongside that today.
“We had to appreciate we had quality opposition coming up and we know New Zealand are one of the best. To get the confidence to beat sides like this and hopefully go four from four in the autumn internationals is massive. We’re building and we’ve got so much in us still.”
