Wilkinson relief at victory
England’s man-of the match Jonny Wilkinson was delighted with the way England stuck at their task to seal a thrilling 31-28 victory over the New Zealand All Blacks.
In a blood-and-thunder clash in front of a capacity crowd at Twickenham, Wilkinson weighed in with 18 points to inspire England to a narrow but deserved victory.
The Newcastle Falcons fly-half told Sky Sports: “It is all about winning. We had good spells and bad spells and although we didn’t play consistently well we still came away with the victory.
“We are not trying to look the best out there, we’re just trying to get the job done.
“To overcome a team like that and not play especially well and to survive all that pressure is a fine result in itself.”
England skipper Martin Johnson admitted it had been a “strange game” with both sides enjoying spells of domination.
England held the upper hand for long periods of the game, but were almost undone by a spirited All Blacks fightback.
“It was a very strange game,” he said. “At the start of the second half we got every break going for the first 15 minutes. But they fought back and were right back in it again.
“But we won and to beat New Zealand any time is very good.”
