England Defeat New Zealand to Advance to 2019 Rugby World Cup Final

England produced one of their greatest-ever performances to beat New Zealand 19-7 on Saturday at Yokohama's Nissan Stadium and book themselves a spot in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final in Japan.

Manu Tuilagi put his side ahead with a try inside two minutes, and England never relented despite late New Zealand pressure.

The all-conquering All Blacks, aiming to win a third consecutive World Cup, were never allowed on to the front foot by an immaculate England side, who responded brilliantly after Ardie Savea narrowed the scoreline in the 57th minute with New Zealand's only try of the match.

George Ford's four penalties made England's lead unassailable, and they will now wait for the result of Sunday's semi-final to see whether they face South Africa or Wales in the final.   

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, meanwhile, will bow out from his remarkable tenure after the bronze final following New Zealand's first World Cup loss since 2007. The 60-year-old announced in December he will step down as the side's manager at the conclusion of the tournament.

England came flying out of the blocks with a set of brilliant opening phases in Yokohama.

Just 98 seconds into proceedings, with New Zealand barely having touched the ball, Tuilagi drove over the line from two metres for the first try after superb work from Kyle Sinckler and Courtney Lawes:

It set the tone for much of the first half, which was dominated by England in almost every area.

Maro Itoje enjoyed a dominant first 40 minutes, impressing at the lineout and the breakdown:

In the 25th minute, Sam Underhill crossed the try line under the posts after a brilliant delayed pass from Sinckler, but it was chalked off by the TMO due to Tom Curry's obstruction.

George Ford added three points from a penalty before the break, though, to keep England in the ascendancy:

England's relentless pressure continued after the break, and Ben Youngs finished off a near-perfect driving lineout for what looked to be England's second try six minutes into the second half.

Again, though, the TMO ruled the score out, this time more controversially:

Another Ford penalty soon after made it 13-0, but Savea then went over for a try just before the hour to put the All Blacks firmly back in contention.

For almost the first time in the whole match, England's lineout broke down, and Savea gratefully snatched the ball in space and got New Zealand on the board.

England's response was clinical as they immediately piled pressure on the All Black line with consecutive phases, and the defending world champions would have been relieved to escape with just Ford's third penalty of the match conceded.  

New Zealand could not turn the momentum, though, with England defending brilliantly and consistently turning over the ball, strangling the life out of their opponents.

A fourth Ford penalty 11 minutes from time gave Eddie Jones' side a 12-point lead, and the All Blacks never looked like making a comeback against an impressively dominant England who will likely go into the final as favourites no matter their opponents.