New Zealand v England: Stuart Lancaster positive despite defeat

England head coach Stuart Lancaster said his side were making progress despite falling to a series defeat in New Zealand.

The All Blacks won Saturday's second Test 28-27 in Dunedin to lead the three-match series 2-0.

"Scoring three tries in Dunedin is not a bad return so we are moving in the right direction but we didn't quite finish the deal," said Lancaster.

"It's decision-making at the highest level that we need to look at."

England deservedly led 10-6 at the break, wing Marland Yarde scoring the only try of a breathtaking half.

But New Zealand stormed into a commanding lead after the break courtesy of tries from Ben Smith, Julian Savea and Ma'a Nonu.

Mike Brown and Chris Ashton scored late tries for England but the final scoreline flattered the tourists.

Lancaster added: "The backline created a lot of opportunities. The frustration for us is not finishing the opportunities.

"There were one or two errors in our game which presented them with opportunities. But overall the positives far outweigh the negatives."

Captain Chris Robshaw agreed with Lancaster's assessment that England are improving.

"We've come a long way in the past few weeks and we'll continue to get better," said the Harlequins back row.

"We just lost a bit of control early in that second half. We just couldn't get hold of the ball really. We showed glimpses, we finished really strongly, we started really strongly, it was just that middle bit.

"It's a result-based industry and unfortunately we've had two losses and lost the series. But we've got another match to come next week and we're going to come out fighting again.''

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen said it was an important series victory for his side over an England team he rates highly.

The All Blacks have now won 16 Tests in a row and need only one more win to equal the record for most consecutive wins, set by New Zealand between 1965 and 1969.

"We certainly played better than in the first Test but we needed to because England were a lot better, too," said Hansen.

"It was a great Test match. The ball was thrown around and everyone would have left satisfied with what they saw.

"England have always been a team we enjoy playing, particularly of late because they've been real contests. They're right up there."

England, who lost last week's first Test 20-15, play the Crusaders in Christchurch on Tuesday before the final Test in Hamilton next Saturday.