The pre-game polls on big match days in New Zealand seldom fluctuate too wildly. Traditionally the public are given just one available option on their local ballot papers and it invariably reads “All Blacks to win”. England have been able to buck the trend only twice, in 1973 and 2003, in a grand total of 15 attempts on Kiwi soil dating back to 1963. Keen students of political history, however, might already have spotted a common thread.
In September 1973, when England beat the All Blacks 16-10 in Auckland, the beleaguered Tory government of the day, led by Sir Edward Heath, was limping towards the exit. In 2003, a few weeks after England pulled off their famous 15-13 rearguard action in Wellington, Tony Blair became the longest continuously serving Labour prime minister.
