All Blacks edge out England in dramatic finale
Mark Tele'a's score ensured a third successive win over England this year for the All Blacks
- Published
England (12) 22
Tries: Feyi-Waboso Con: Smith Pens: Smith (4), Spencer
New Zealand (14) 24
Tries: Tele'a (2) Jordan Cons: B Barrett (2), McKenzie Pen: McKenzie
New Zealand dealt England a deflating start to their autumn campaign as Mark Tele'a came back off the bench to score a decisive 76th-minute try and continue the All Blacks' run of superiority.
England lost narrowly in two Tests against the All Blacks in July and were edged out once more as George Ford's last-play drop-goal drifted agonisingly wide after he had hit the post with a potential match-winning penalty.
The hosts had been on the back foot in the first half, fortunate to only be two points adrift as Marcus Smith's boot repaired some of the damage from Tele'a and Will Jordan's tries.
But Smith snatched an interception early in the second half to set up a try for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to give England the lead, before edging the hosts out to a 22-14 advantage.
Belief coursed through Twickenham but ultimately a performance of stubborn determination went unrewarded as Tele'a dived in late on to cap a period of pressure and England's late rally could not salvage victory.
England's players, including the substituted Smith, consoled Ford as they trudged away from another painful loss, while winning captain Scott Barrett went off with his jubilant team to collect the Hillary Shield.
Ford's missed drop-goal signalled the end of the match
The pressure is now on Steve Borthwick's side to recover from another narrow defeat - a frustrating fourth such loss in five games.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
England play Australia - ranked 10th in the world - next weekend, before a rematch with Rugby World Cup semi-final conquerors South Africa and a final game against Japan on 24 November.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," added George. "We put ourselves in a really good position come 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England step up to face haka
England advanced to the halfway line to face the haka
There had been rumours that England had planned a response to the haka before kick-off, with off-duty prop Joe Marler - who said on Monday that the pre-match challenge should be "binned" - on the sidelines during the teams' warm-up.
The rumours proved true. To the delight of the home crowd, captain Jamie George led his side up to halfway - the limit of what is allowed - to face the All Blacks.
The visitors responded in kind, advancing to within five metres of England, as the two teams stared into the whites of each other's eyes.
"That was always our plan before Joe’s comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England rally only to fall agonisingly close
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso helped England open an eight-point lead in the second half
England's defence failed to match that coordination and intent. After nine minutes, on their first real attack, New Zealand sliced through all too easily.
Flanker Wallace Sititi drew Tommy Freeman and George Furbank on the short side before flipping an offload to Tele'a, who cruised around covering prop Ellis Genge and into the corner.
New Zealand's second try - on 27 minutes - was another eyesore for new England defence coach Joe El-Abd.
Beauden Barrett jagged blind, leaving England short-staffed before Jordan cut back on a scissors angle to canter past Genge, exposed once more against pace.
That body blow moved the All Blacks 14-6 clear and the game already looked perilously close to slipping into southern hemisphere hands.
But England hung tough. Their scrum, under pressure in the summer, was a source of strength, earning penalties and a solid supply of ball. They imposed themselves in contact, with Chandler Cunningham-South landing a shuddering hit on Tupou Vaa'i before exhorting more noise from the stands.
And New Zealand's indiscipline, frequently hitting players without the ball on the gain-line, allowed them a route back into the game with another two Smith penalties.
New Zealand still bristled with danger when afforded space. The superb Sititi surged through broken field and almost laid on a third try just before half-time, with Vaa'i just unable to reel in his pass with the line beckoning.
The All Blacks though have had a habit of fading out of games in the Rugby Championship this year, and a prime piece of pickpocketing from Smith seized the initiative early in the second half.
The England fly-half grabbed Cortez Ratima's sluggish pass, sprinted clear and the ball was smuggled out to Feyi-Waboso who cantered in for 19-14.
Every tackle, turnover and successful dual was being celebrated long, loud and together by England's players as they zeroed in on a first home win over New Zealand in 12 years.
The biggest cheer though was reserved for referee Angus Gardner, whose voice was broadcast NFL-style over the stadium speakers - a new innovation for this autumn - as he reviewed and ruled out a score by Beauden Barrett for Caleb Clarke's knock-on.
However, England ultimately could not keep the visitors at bay.
The replacement front row - Fin Baxter, Theo Dan and Dan Cole - lost their grip on the scrum and the penalty count ticked up against the home side.
Finally Tele'a, forced back into the fray on 66 minutes by an injury to Beauden Barrett having been replaced, pirouetted through Ford's tackle and held off Harry Randall to dot down.
Damian McKenzie coolly landed the touchline conversion to take the Kiwis back in front.
There was still time for more drama, but not another twist in the scoreline.
Ford, brought on in the 62nd minute to see the game out, planted a long, but straight penalty shot against the post and then clipped a last-gasp drop-goal wide in a desperate, doomed pursuit of a comeback.
In England's last outing at Twickenham, Smith had landed a drop-goal from a similar spot to defeat Grand Slam-chasing Ireland.
This time, they could not muster the same accuracy and were left with a vastly different feeling from March's joy.
Line-ups
England: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M Smith, Spencer; Genge, George (capt), Stuart; Itoje, Martin; Cunningham-South, T Curry, Earl.
Replacements: Dan, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, B Curry, Dombrandt, Randall, Ford.
New Zealand: Jordan; Tele'a, Ioane, J Barrett, Clarke; B Barrett, Ratima; Williams, Taylor, Lomax, S Barrett (capt), Vaa'i, Sititi, Cane, Savea.
Replacements: Aumua, Tu'ungafasi, Tosi, Tuipulotu, Finau, Roigard, Lienart-Brown, McKenzie.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)