5 Talking Points: England's Steve Borthwick and Maro Itoje react to milestone win over All Blacks
Rugby NewsSaturday, 15 November 2025 at 19:43
England recorded a memorable victory today at the Allianz Stadium, as Steve Borthwick's side triumphed over the All Blacks for a stunning 33-19 win to remain unbeaten in the third round of the Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick's side have won a 10th straight Test match, with this win over the Number Two ranked All Blacks set to shake-up the World Rugby rankings ahead of December's 2027 Rugby World Cup draw. England have their first home win against the All Blacks since 2012, with the hopes of a New Zealand 'Grand Slam' upon their Northern Tour of the Home Nations now up in smoke.
After the impressive victory at the home of English Rugby, Borthwick was joined in the post-match press conference by his captain Maro Itoje. Addressing everything from England's 'V-Arrow' response to the All Blacks' Haka to Itoje's incredible pre-match team-talk that fired up the side, here are the five biggest talking points from Borthwick and Itoje's reaction to the match.
5 TALKING POINTS: BORTHWICK AND ITOJE REACT TO ENGLAND 33-19 ALL BLACKS
HAKA RESPONSE - ITOJE REVEALS WHY ENGLAND RESPONDED TO THE HAKA WITH 2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP 'V' FORMATION
MARO ITOJE: "We were trying to achieve the same thing they [New Zealand] were trying to achieve. The Haka is a war dance that they do, to get themselves up for the game. I know it has a huge spiritual meaning to New Zealanders. Our response was a response to the Haka and just to show ourselves, the team and Allianz Stadium that were ready for the challenge."
BORTHWICK SHARES ITOJE'S INCREDIBLE PRE-MATCH TEAM TALK - 'PLAY LIKE YOUR 14-YEAR-OLD SELF WITH A DREAM'
STEVE BORTHWICK: "I heard him [Itoje] address the team this morning. Maz [Itoje] addressed the team this morning, and he talked about when the team were 14,15, years old boys dreaming of playing for England. Dreaming of playing here at Allianz stadium, against teams like New Zealand, dreaming of beating teams like New Zealand here and scoring tries, contributing to great wins, celebrating with fans.
"He asked the players to go out and play with that intent, the 14, 15, year-old who has the dream. The boys took those dreams onto the pitch today, and I thought they were outstanding. So, your question about World Cup draw and things like rankings helps. We know it helps. But this isn't about that. This is about trying to achieve special moments and special memories.
"Today is one of them that hopefully, there's a load of other young future rugby players watching that game today around the country, who want to wear the white shirt and go out and get great victories for England in the future."
BORTHWICK REFLECTS ON GEORGE FORD'S MASTERCLASS FROM THE BOOT
STEVE BORTHWICK: "George Ford is a brilliant player. I think he's an outstanding leader and even better person. I've been privileged to work with him for a period of time. I know you'd like to talk about 12 months ago, the ball hitting a post.
"George came on 12 months ago and he played really well, as he always does for England. When he pulls on the England shirt, he's just such a consistent performer. I'm pleased for him, I'm pleased for all the players, delighted for him. They should enjoy themselves tonight, they should have a good night out together. They should enjoy it and then recover well, because we've got Argentina on Sunday in a week.
"I think it's nice when you've got a skill set like George Ford has, as Test matches are as tight as they are, it's always a factor. It was a special part. I trust the ten to make a decision, when he decides to make it. I thought he made brilliant decisions and executed perfectly."
ITOJE PRAISES THE NON-23 SQUAD MEMBERS AND THE ENGLAND LEADERSHIP GROUP
MARO ITOJE: "We're delighted. We put a lot of effort into that. We've had a lot of close games with them, last year in particular, with three games [that were] really tight. So, yeah, absolutely delighted for the team, delighted for the squad.
"I'll just pay a special mention to to the non 23 the guys who weren't actually playing, because I've thought they've been fantastic. They've been, you know, Steve will tell you, on Thursday, they cut us and cut us and cut us, and they gave us the best possible preparation for this game. So we definitely wouldn't have got the result without, without their hard work and their application
"I thought they [leadership group] were fantastic. George Ford was fantastic today in terms of leadership, Jamie George was fantastic. Ben Earl was fantastic. And again, [Ellis] Genge was fantastic. [Tom] Curry when he came on, he was fantastic. They all played a role, them and many others. When they came on, they just gave the team the stewardship it needed through those tough times."
"I GOT CRITICISED?" - BORTHWICK REVEALS THE PRESSURE OF BEING ENGLAND HEAD COACH
This time 12 months ago, England were enduring a miserable run of form. Head coach Steve Borthwick was in the hot-seat and faced an onslaught of criticism after a mixed bag in the 2024 Six Nations, a series defeat to the All Blacks in the Summer and just one win from the subsequent Autumn Series.
Now, with three November wins in a row and a 10th overall Test triumph on the bounce, Borthwick had a bit of fun with the media, who asked how he feels with a positive narrative around his position.
"I got criticised? I didn't see that" Borthwick said. "Neither did I" Itoje added.
STEVE BORTHWICK: "When you accept the role as England head coach, there's expectation upon it, and I'd much rather be involved with a team that has an expectation upon any role, than [one] that doesn't. I know the journey this team is on, and exactly where the team's going and what we need to do.
"I think the most exciting thing I find from for this team right now, is that we left a load of points out there. There's loads of chances we didn't take. We got held up over the goal line, a couple of knock ons in the 22 when it looked like we were about to score. That tells me there's a huge amount of growth in this team, because we were playing the number two side in the world today."
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