In some respects this has been a revolutionary England tour. Not so much in terms of the series outcome, with New Zealand already reunited with the Hillary Shield, but in the way England have positively embraced the whole experience. They have visited schools and children’s hospitals, presented a more upbeat face to the world, sought to play more dynamic rugby and generally been the most polite of guests.
No one has even contemplated jumping off a ferry into Auckland harbour, let alone throwing any diminutive Kiwis around in the name of late night entertainment. All of which is starting to disorient their hosts. “Am I dreaming this?” wrote the columnist Chris Rattue in the New Zealand Herald before the second Test. “It feels as if the extreme heat has gone from our dislike of English rugby.” He went on to add that Steve Borthwick “seems like a genuine bloke”, that there had been “no annoyances to wind our fragile egos up” and that New Zealanders “might even have got over the unhealthy Wayne Barnes obsession (I think.)”.
