New Zealand winger Mark Tele’a scored the decisive try as the All Blacks came from behind to edge England 24-22 in a dramatic finish to their November international at Twickenham on Saturday.
Shortly thereafter Scotland thrashed Fiji 57-17 in the only other Test that had any impact on the World Rugby rankings.
Of course, the result in Edinburgh will be of interest to the Springboks who face the Scots next Sunday at Murrayfield.
Missed drop goal
England led 22-14 with 13 minutes left but replacement flyhalf Damian McKenzie and Telea’s second try of the match helped give New Zealand a two-point lead.
But England substitute flyhalf George Ford, who had hit the post with a 79th-minute penalty – his first goal-kick of the game – missed what would have been a winning drop-goal with the last kick of the match in stoppage time.
Defeat in their November opener was yet another frustrating loss for England, with Steve Borthwick’s men beaten in several close games since the 2023 Rugby World Cup – including 16-15 and 24-17 losses in New Zealand in July.
Saturday’s reverse was particularly tough on flyhalf Marcus Smith, who kicked 17 points and grabbed the interception that led to England’s lone try through winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
New Zealand led 14-12 at the break, the All Blacks scoring converted tries through Tele’a and prolific fullback Will Jordan, with England’s points coming via four Smith penalties.
England, however, hit back early in the second half through Feyi-Waboso’s try only to suffer another agonising loss to the All Blacks.
Wholesale changes
New Zealand made wholesale changes to the team that launched their tour with a 64-19 thrashing of Japan last week as several first-choice players returned to the starting XV.
Scott Barrett led a side where his brothers Beauden and Jordie lined up alongside each other at flyhalf and inside centre for the first time in a Test.
Home playmaker Smith gave England a fifth-minute lead.
But New Zealand hit back four minutes later when, after a neat reverse pass from flanker Wallace Sititi out of a tackle by England full-back George Furbank, Tele’a went over for a try on the blindside as he out-matched England prop Ellis Genge.
Beauden Barrett converted and New Zealand led 7-3.
England, however, reduced that gap to just a point with a Smith penalty awarded after another New Zealand tackle off the ball near their own posts.
New Zealand pulled clear in the 28th minute when Beauden Barrett’s superb inside scissor-pass released fullback Jordan who ran in from some 30 metres for his 36th try in just 38 Tests.
Beauden Barrett’s conversion put New Zealand 14-6 ahead before another Smith penalty cut the deficit.
Breakaway try
England flanker Chandler Cunningham-South’s thumping tackle on Tupou Vaa’i which led to a knock-on roused a crowd of over 81 000.
From the ensuing scrum, England won a penalty and Smith was on target with a 47-metre effort.
The second half was just five minutes old when Smith picked off a Cortez Ratima pass deep in his own 22 before sprinting clear of Jordan and linking with Furbank, who in turn released Feyi-Waboso.
Smith’s conversion meant England now led by five points.
Beauden Barrett thought he had scored a breakaway try but the score was ruled out on review for a deliberate knock-on by winger Caleb Clarke.
Smith’s penalty left England two scores in front at 22-14 and in sight of just a ninth win in 46 Tests against New Zealand.
But a McKenzie penalty, following a ‘no-arms’ tackle by No 8 Ben Earl, sparked the All Blacks’ revival.
New Zealand continue their tour against Six Nations champions Ireland in Dublin on Friday, with England facing Australia at Twickenham a week on Saturday.
Rankings
New Zealand picked up 0.97 ranking points for their victory, but remained in third place, while England lost 0.97 points and stayed fifth.
Meanwhile, Scotland added 0.57 points to their tally for their victory, but stayed seventh overall.
Fiji lost 0.57 points and slipped to 10th, with Australia moving up to ninth.
RANKCOUNTRYPOINTS1Ireland92.122South Africa91.773New Zealand89.674France86.965England84.436Argentina84.307Scotland83.398Italy79.989Australia79.3210Fiji79.0711Wales76.0412Georgia74.1013Samoa72.6814Japan72.3115Portugal70.6116Tonga68.1217Uruguay67.3918Spain66.2919USA65.7020Romania62.62
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