Quote: Dally "I think I said that right up front. Fact still is they were going to stroll in if Sinfield didn't get out quick. (Actually, jis outside defenders got out with him as it happens, just those inside who didn't). As I said before if he'd had slightly more explosive pace he'd have got their earlier and either made the tackle or more likely shephered Johnson wide, for them to score in the corner rather than close to the posts. They were always going to score from that position if he hadn't tried something. I don't blame him, except maybe for not standing wider from the PTB - but that would have required the inside players standing wider too and leaving exposure to a try from dummy half. NZ stacked out right with SBW in the middle of the phalanx, England tried to cover that and had abour 5 covering the dummy half effort. The ball was always going left - NZ had us.'"
They were not 'always going to score'. You're basing your entire argument on this statement and it simply isn't true. There was only a one man overlap with the wide man tight to the touchline - actually pretty simple to defend. Charnley, Watkins and Sinfield could easily have moved in, held and slid as the ball moved. It's a very common defensive movement - indeed they had performed it well earlier in the game.
There was simply no need to rush in. All he did was give Johnson the opportunity to step and left a huge hole, whereas a solid line of sliding defenders is much, much harder to penetrate.
They were not, by any stretch of the imagination, going to 'stroll in'. What a ridiculous and ignorant statement.