Writing in The Independent, Chris Hewett reflects on England tour-ending defeat to the New Zealand Maori.
"England had seen enough of the All Black wing Rico Gear down the years to fear what might be called an "extra Gear" in the shape of his younger brother, Hosea. They were dead right to be alarmed. The 26-year-old from Gisborne ran the tourists ragged before a capacity crowd in Napier yesterday, claiming three of the four tries that secured a full house of victories for the Maori in their centenary season. Joe Rokocoko, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Cory Jane, Zac Guildford... and now this bloke. Help.
"If Martin Johnson's second-string side managed three tries of their own, they were firmly of the "after the Lord Mayor's Show" variety: a fortunate follow-up score for Steffon Armitage, a tap-and-go effort from Danny Care and an easy run-in for Chris Ashton from a Charlie Hodgson interception. By comparison, the Maori five-pointers were works of rugby art. One of them, Gear's first, bordered on the magical."
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