When the pandemonium around the fringes died down you were struck by the calmness in the middle.

The almost total absence of celebration, let alone any form of smugness or self congratulation.

England had just put down a performance for the ages. Beaten New Zealand in a World Cup semi-final so comprehensively the men in black went a whiter shade of pale at the horror of it all.

Yet in the glorious aftermath it was as much as they could do to raise a smile.

The feeling now is that weve given ourselves an opportunity, said fly-half George Ford. That is literally all it is. Weve got one opportunity now to finish it off. We want to enjoy the win, but we understand what is ahead of us.

Straight after the game Eddie Jones walked into the England changing room and addressed the squad.

It was: well done, good win, said Ford. He said he was proud of us now lets crack on to this week.

We are over the moon with the win but genuinely, and this is not faking it in any way, the feeling across the players is we want to finish this off.

This is a far cry from 1997 when England were lampooned for doing a lap of honour at Old Trafford after being hammered by the All Blacks.

Call it the Eddie effect.

From the moment Jones took charge he focused the players on 2 November 2019. He told them that would be the day England would become the best team in the world. Sign up or ship out.

Everything else has been been merely a stepping stone to that goal, even this: eliminating the two-time defending champions with as perfect a display as you could ever see on a rugby field.

At the start of the week Eddie wanted us to rewrite history, said Billy Vunipola. We have gone one step towards doing that. Now we have another game.

This remarkable sense of calm, of existing in the moment, served England well at Yokohama Stadium where, in Fords words, we knew we were not able to switch off for one second.

They had two tries disallowed, momentum swings which would have rocked lesser sides, yet simply came back harder.

Even when they made their only real mistake of the game, a lineout malfunction that gifted New Zealand their only points, there was no dialling down of spirit.

It was incredibly calm behind the posts, said Ford. And that was massive for us to be honest. At that stage of the game, to give a try away but we were thinking whats next?

We went down the other end and got three points, which is exactly how you want to respond.

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This has not just happened because Jones has decreed it. It has taken an inordinate amount of work by all concerned. It was only in March that England blew a 31-0 lead against Scotland.

Having some structures and systems in place to calm everyone down and get some messages across has massively benefitted everyone, Ford admitted. Were still working on it every day."

And so England move forward to the next match. One step from immortality was how it was put to Jones.

It's another week for us, came the straight reply. That talk is for you guys. Enjoy it, because you won't be getting anything from us."

ENGLAND - Try: Tuilagi. Con: Farrell. Pen: Ford 4.

NEW ZEALAND - Try: Savea. Con: Mounga.

Read more from the original source:
Rugby World Cup: England keep calm and carry on towards final day of destiny - Mirror Online