England vs New Zealand: Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell reveal why they decided to challenge the All Blacks during haka

England formed a V shape around the All Blacks while they performed the ceremonial dance, which proved the catalyst for one of the great Rugby World Cup performances

England decided on responding to the Haka in order to challenge the “rugby gods” in New Zealand, with Eddie Jones stressing that that the decision to form a V around the All Blacks was part of a plan to prove their motivation for the Rugby World Cup semi-final.

England pulled off an historic 19-7 victory to seal their first ever win over the All Blacks at a World Cup and book their place in next Saturday’s final, where they will have the chance to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for only the second time in their history against either Wales or South Africa.

In what is already being considered as possibly England’s greatest ever performance on a rugby field, Jones’s side bullied and bashed their way to victory in dominant fashion so rarely seen by previous English sides, inflicting what is New Zealand’s first World Cup defeat for 12 years in the process.

"New Zealand are rugby gods so we had to take it to them,” Jones said. “We wanted to take it to them to show we could take the game to them and put them on the back foot as much as we could.

"Owen [Farrell] and the leaders on the field were exceptional today. They kept the team disciplined, stuck to the game plan, kept attacking where we thought New Zealand were weak and didn't divert from there."

Farrell was at the base of the V that stood in front of the All Blacks, with Joe Marler and Billy Vunipola crossing halfway to challenge their opponents that brought the stadium alive in a cacophony of noise, cheering and boos.

"We knew we had to be within a radius behind them and we wanted not to just stand there and let them come at us,” said Farrell. “We wanted to keep a respectful distance and be respectful to that but we didn't just want to stand in a flat line and let them come at us."

England knew that by challenging New Zealand, they would provoke a fury within the All Blacks that would need to be handled, though Manu Tuilagi’s try after 98 seconds went a long way towards doing that.

“I don’t think that’s why we won but it’s too show that we’re ready to accept the challenge,” said Tuilagi. “Coming against New Zealand any game is tough but in the semis it’s even tougher. You’ve got to make all your tackles, use all the possession really well. I think we did that today. Fair play to the boys and the big boys who were getting us through.”

England are likely to be fined by World Rugby for encroaching in the New Zealand half during the Haka, given that France were hit for £2,500 for doing something similar eight years ago before the World Cup final. But Mako Vunipola revealed after the match that Marler mistakenly went to circle the All Blacks while they were doing the Haka, meaning that the England prop will have to foot the bill.

“Joe actually got confused, he thought we were going to surround them, so he can pay the fine!” Vunipola said.

England challenged the Haka before their semi-final win (Getty) (Getty Images)

“Obviously we spoke about it but nothing gets passed unless the boss has put his mark on it. He suggested it and we as players were happy to go with it. I’ve only had the opportunity to face it a couple of times and every time you do it gets more special.

“We didn’t mean any disrespect by it but we wanted to send a message that we were ready for the challenge and also give ourselves a bit of pressure where we had to back it up. I’m very thankful that the performance backed it up.”

Jones meanwhile paid tribute to what the All Blacks have achieved over the last eight years, and confirmed that he would meet with Hansen to share a beer together following the match, despite ending the Kiwi’s World Cup hopes.

England responded to the Haka by forming a V around the All Blacks (AFP via Getty) (Getty)

"They're a great team, they won two World Cups, they've got a great coach and a great captain, so we had to battle hard today,” Jones said. “You always go in it with an idea of how you want the game to be and it never goes exactly like that. You've got to give credit to New Zealand for fighting until the end, we had to dig deep to win that game.

“It gives us another week. We have another week and we're looking forward to it. We're not historians, we don't know but we know that we can play better next week. We're going to have to play better next week, whoever we play against.

"We're looking forward to Wales and South Africa playing a 3-3 draw, so they have to play extra time, it's still 3-3 and they have to play more extra time. That's the prediction.

"We don't control [who we’ll play], but I'll definitely come and watch the game."