The great All Blacks of old this current crop may not be, but as England can attest, never doubt New Zealand’s never-say-die spirit. For a third time this year, Scott Robertson’s side were dead and buried at the 60-minute mark only to rise from their tomb like Halloween ghouls to haunt the hosts again.
It had been a long gap between England appearances at their home ground – long enough for Twickenham to have a radical rebrand – but the closing tableau was strikingly similar. Then, it had been Marcus Smith dropping Steve Borthwick’s men to victory as the clock ticked dead; here, with the chance to do the same, George Ford sliced wide to let a first victory over their opponents at home for 12 years slip by.
