England’s mission on the eve of this Test series was to update a few perceptions in New Zealand. They wanted the All Blacks “to know who we are” and to rid themselves of a shedload of historical baggage. On a rousing night in Auckland they again earned their opponents’s respect but could not quite become the first side in 30 years to storm their hosts’ supposedly impregnable fortress.
There will be other days, not least when New Zealand come to Twickenham this November. But for the second week running they were unable to cling on to a promising lead, failing to apply the coup de grace from 17-13 ahead 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 the wing Mark Tele’a and the impact of Beauden Barrett off the bench that edged the All Blacks home but England’s bold and energetic contribution was undeniable. Maro Itoje was again outstanding, Marcus Smith had an eye-catching game and Manny Feyi-Waboso added further lustre to his growing reputation.
Equally a couple of other recurring themes could not be blithely overlooked. In both Tests England did not finish as strongly as they would have wanted and their scrummage remains in clear need of reinforcement. They have lost four of their last six Tests and only against Ireland in the Six Nations have they found a way over the line in a tight contest against highly ranked opposition.
The margins, though, are fiendishly slim and England might even have secured a draw right at the death. Jamie George and his forwards felt there was a case for a penalty try for New Zealand collapsing a close-range maul but instead the TMO ruled there had been illegal obstruction as George was driven towards the line. As they kicked the ball out to end the game, the sense of Kiwi relief was palpable.
For the second week running it all made for absorbing entertainment. England no longer deal in cagey starts and this game set off like a scalded cat. New Zealand had a try on the board after only 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, 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 break-outs were thwarted by fine scramble tackles from 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 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 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 England came again and, with advantage being played, Smith put up another high cross-field 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.
Maintaining that momentum was always going to be key and England, to their credit, did try to keep 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 bench cavalry had arrived and the reliably classy Barrett scythed through a sizeable gap to set up the acrobatic Tele’a for his second try. Entering the final quarter it was anybody’s game but the weight of history was still hanging in the air, particularly when Barrett volleyed the ball downfield and, for a split second, looked like winning the game single-handed.
In the event, it was a more prosaic penalty for offside that nudged New Zealand further ahead. England were unlucky that Theo Dan was forced off less than a minute after coming on, ensuring George had to play almost a full 80 minutes at the end of an achingly long season. Freddie Steward also had to come off for a head injury assessment, requiring Marcus Smith to come back at full-back. Would fresher legs have made an impact? Ollie Sleightholme reinforced that argument with a couple of sharp bursts but, for the second successive week, no happy ending was forthcoming.
