As if the aura of the All Blacks was not enough to whet the appetite, rugby connoisseurs will be salivating over this one for months, after a game that had everything, including a pair of tries for England's nemesis Jonah Lomu, on a day where English creativity triumphed in a superb advert for the game.
It was tries from flanker Lewis Moody, fly-half Jonny Wilkinson and wing Ben Cohen that did the damage from the home side, while Man of the match Wilkinson's 16 points with the boot proved vital in the end.
For New Zealand, despite being on the back foot in the scrum and wavering occasionally in the line-out, their enterprise in the loose and fiery back row play was rewarded with tries for Auckland wing Doug Howlett and replacement scrum-half Danny Lee.
While the likes of first-choice All Blacks Reuben Thorne, Richie McCaw and Justin Marshall may have been watching at home on TV in New Zealand, they would have been among the millions worlwide on the edge of their seat during a nailbiting finale, England hanging on to their three point lead with some last-ditch tackling.
It was however a colossal take from replacement lock Ben Kay from a New Zealand throw-in five metres from the English line in injury-time that sealed New Zealand's fate, with the English at least going some way to exorcising the ghosts of their 1995 and 1999 World Cup losses.
Despite a week of build-up focusing mainly on the perceived weakness of what some harsh pundits had labelled this supposed All Black second XV, the Twickenham crowd's rousing rendition of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" during an emotional Haka set the tone for a superb 80 minutes.
After some fine early takes from Keith Robinson in the black jersey, it was Wilkinson whose boot propelled the home side into a 6-0 lead with two penalties after enterprising runs from Greenwood in midfield.
The greenhorn All Black pack however showed their strength in the loose with a rolling maul near the Englnd posts, and it was from this pacey early pressure that the first try of the day came.
It started from captain Taine Randell's decision to kick a penalty near the English line into touch, where after a solid grab in the lineout, the ball was worked right to left through the hands, the eventual two-on-one overlap down the right wing seeing Lomu run over a combination of Mike Tindall and Jason Robinson for a score in the corner after being sent upstairs to the video ref.
Ben Blair converted brilliantly from way out wide, and with Spencer punting well from defence, England were forced to look to their dominating scrum to gain headway in opposition territory.
It was that forward momentum that chiselled a gap for Wilkinson to regain a narrow lead with a close-range drop-goal on 24 minutes, although it was not long after before the visitors were again edging ahead.
A sloppy spell of midfield play from both sides saw the ball intercepted by Tana Umaga, who slapped it down in the direction of Howlett, the Auckland speedster tearing away down the right-wing to cross the line, beating the retreating Jason Robinson for pace on the way, with Blair converting from under the posts.
Blair then fired a long penalty wide of the posts, with Wilkinson getting England to within two points with a 43 metre effort approaching the break.
The Newcastle star then stuck another monster attempt marginally wide of the left upright, but just when the half-time whistle looked like coming, the Twickenham crowed sprung to their feet to hail a try from Leicester blindsider Lewis Moody.
In the team at the expense of club-mate Neil Back, he was put in to the right corner after superb combination play from Simpson-Daniel and Wilkinson as they sucked in the defenders -- Wilkinson missing the conversion, but England still going into the interval at 17-14 up, a scoreline perhaps flattering them after a less than convincing first 40 minutes.
The half-time break saw the exit of one creative force from each side, Spencer (shoulder) and Greenwood (dead leg) but it was the off-the-cuff brilliance of Wilkinson that illuminated the first few minutes of the half, faking for a drop-goal only to chip-and-chase over the flat-footed All Black defence, despite referee Jonathan Kaplan having already signalled an England penalty.
He converted his own score, and it was almost from the restart that what had looked like a tight scoreline turned into a landslide, Mehrtens spilling the ball at first receiver for Cohen to turn on the after-burners from halfway, running strong and straight to the line with Wilkinson again adding the extras -- New Zealand huddling under the crossbar for a much-needed spot of soul-searching, despite some shining first-half performances.
Mehrtens further endeared himself to the home fans with a missed penalty from long range, although his next shot at goal had the desired result, as he converted Lomu's second try.
It came after a rumbling rolling maul, with back rower Marty Holah yet again showing his strength before the ball was shipped left to right, Umaga's superb decoy run giving Lomu a straight path to the line from 10 metres, the minor problem of Mike Tindall being in the way proving little obstacle to the big man on the burst.
New Zealand seized on the momentum of that try, and there was some vintage Lomu down the left-wing as he swatted opposite man Simpson-Daniel away like a fly before taking three tacklers to haul him down.
Fullback Ben Blair was the man however to really penetrate, his break down the right nearly seeing Kees Meeuws over the line as the English defence was forced into drastic action on their own line.
They were not so lucky moments later however after a forceful run into the 22 from No.8 Sam Broomhall created the platform for replacement scrum-half Lee to dummy and go from close range, a superb predator's try which got the All Blacks to within three points at 31-28, setting up a tantalising finale.
Had it not been for a crushing try-saver from Cohen in the last minute then the result could well have been different, as he bundled Canterbury fullback Blair into the corner flag after a fleeting run covering all of 50 metres.
With referee Kaplan's watch ticking round toward the 80-minute mark it was then the turn of Ben Kay to assume the mantle of hero as he snatched a line-out five metres from the English line on a New Zealand throw, with that superb leap at fourth man ending the hopes of the New Zealand fans, the final whistle coming seconds later to end a truly thrilling encounter between two teams intent on running the ball.
Man of the match: Jonny Wilkinson (England): Another masterful display from the Newcastle fly-half, not least for his cool-head and vision in setting up his own try, but his marshalling of the backline was exemplary yet again. Elsewhere in the England side, notable mentions for hooker Steve Thompson after some energy-sapping support play, and Bath centre Mike Tindall after grit and creation alongside Will Greenwood. For New Zealand, Doug Howlett down the right-wing showed that he was the class act in the side with a brilliantly-taken try, and opensider Marty Holah landed some massive hits in defence.
Moment of the Match: With England three points up, and with two minutes left on the clock, New Zealand fullback Ben Blair tore away down the left wing, with a seemingly clean run-in to the line. England left wing Ben Cohen had other ideas though, and hared across the pitch in the nick of time, bundling Blair into the corner-flag with a top-draw ball-and-all challenge when a certain try was on the cards. Wilkinson's superb chip-and-chase try and Kay's injury-time line-out take were close contenders, but Cohen's heroic tackle gets our vote.
Villain of the Match: No real villains in a match which was marvellously refereed, and with no sin-binnings as both teams battled hard in the best rugby traditions. The fans who booed All Black captain Taine Randell's decision to go for goal from a penalty with 30 minutes to go and at 31-14 down did however show firstly a lack of respect for one of the great men of the game, and secondly, a complete lack of rugby knowledge.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 Joe McDonnell, 2 Andrew Hore, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Keith Robinson, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Taine Randell (c), 8 Sam Broomhall, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Keith Lowen, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Jonah Lomu, 15 Ben Blair
Reserves: Danny Lee, Andrew Mehrtens, Brad Mika, Mark Robinson
Unused: Keven Mealamu, Carl Hayman, Rodney So'oialo
England: 1 Phil Vickery, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Trevor Woodman, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Richard Hill, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Ben Cohen, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves: Ben Kay, Neil Back, Austin Healey, Ben Johnston
Unused: Jason Leonard, Mark Regan, Tim Stimpson
Referee: Kaplan j.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 1, Lee D.D. 1, Lomu J.T. 2
Conv: Blair B.A. 2, Mehrtens A.P. 2
England
Tries: Cohen B.C. 1, Moody L.W. 1, Wilkinson J.P. 1
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 2
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 3
Drop G.: Wilkinson J.P. 1
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