England’s mission on the eve of this Test series was to change a few perceptions in New Zealand. They wanted the All Blacks “to know who we are” and to jettison the baggage of past failures. On an enthralling night in Auckland they again left a mark on Kiwi psyches but could not quite become the first side in 30 years to win at their hosts’ supposedly impregnable fortress.
There will be other days, not least when New Zealand come to Twickenham this November for a rematch. But having led 17-13 approaching the hour mark on a cool still evening, the visitors were once again unable to apply the coup de grace as the All Blacks completed a 2-0 series win to extend England’s winless record in New Zealand since 2003.
Ultimately it was two tries from winger Mark Tele’a which saw the All Blacks home but even the most rugby-obsessed New Zealander could not deny England’s wholehearted contribution to an enthralling series. Maro Itoje was again outstanding, Marcus Smith had an eye-catching game and Manny Feyi-Waboso added further lustre to his growing reputation.
England were still pressing for a game-levelling try right at the death, only for the TMO to rule there had been an obstruction as they drove for the line, ruling out any possibility of a penalty try. New Zealand were swift to kick the ball out at the first opportunity, with relief once again visible on plenty of local faces.
It all made for excellent entertainment. England matches no longer seem to involve cagey starts and this one set off like a scalded cat. New Zealand had a try on the board after just 11 minutes, building a platform from an initial scrum penalty that eventually saw Tele’a sneak down an unguarded blind side to score in the left corner.
Within a couple of minutes, though, England responded with a smart score of their own. Spotting a relative lack of All Black cover out wide Smith put over a perfect cross-kick which Feyi-Waboso took on the full around seven metres out. The young wing still had plenty to do but his low-slung acceleration left two startled defenders trailing in his wake.
If the visitors were slightly fortunate that two ominous All Black breakouts were thwarted by fine scramble tackles from Tommy Freeman and Smith, they were also causing attacking problems of their own, frustrated only by a couple of small fumbles by an onrushing Ollie Lawrence. It had been a beautiful dry day but the evening dew was complicating life for both teams.
A 20th-minute Damian McKenzie penalty restored New Zealand’s lead soon enough but England were committed to upping the pace regardless and the All Blacks, unusually for them on their sacred home patch, found themselves trapped in their own half for an extended period. Even when they escaped Maro Itoje nicked a crucial lineout to relieve the pressure and did not entirely reflect the balance of play when a second McKenzie penalty made it 13-7.
After the half-time hooter had sounded, though England came again and, with advantage being played, Smith put up another high crossfield kick. This time it was Freeman who was lurking underneath it and the Northampton wing rose splendidly to pluck the ball out of the dark night sky and score in the same right corner. Smith, having endured a tough time with the boot in the first Test, landed a nerveless angled conversion to send England in with a 14-13 advantage.
after newsletter promotion
Maintaining that momentum would clearly be crucial and England, to their credit, kept the tempo high. They also enjoyed a nice little bonus when the All Blacks’ Dalton Papali’i thought he had stolen a jackal turnover only for the penalty to be reversed for obstruction and allow Smith to slot another three points.
By now, though, the All Black cavalry had arrived and the reliably classy Beauden Barrett scythed through a sizeable gap to set up Tele’a for his second try of the night. Entering the final quarter it felt like anybody’s game but the weight of history was still hanging in the air. Barrett volleyed the ball downfield and, for a split second, looked like doing something truly spectacular but, in the event, it was a more prosaic penalty for offside which nudged New Zealand further ahead. England strained every sinew but, for the second successive week, there was to be no happy ending.