England vs New Zealand: Chris Robshaw admits 'we must kill teams off' after letting lead over All Blacks slip
England 21 New Zealand 24: England did not fall behind the All Blacks until the second half bet once again could not live with the world champions for 80 minutes
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Your support makes all the difference.England captain Chris Robshaw admitted his team should have been able to finish off the All Blacks.
Robshaw said: “We had the best team in the world on the ropes but we need to learn how to deliver the killer blow.
“The first half we played really well in the right areas. In the second half the conditions came down and we could not get field position. If you look at the first half we hurt them. Unfortunately we played quite deep in the second half.”
England coach Stuart Lancaster believes his side are “not far away” despite their fourth defeat by the All Blacks in a year. Lancaster, whose side are targeting the home World Cup next year, said: “We don’t feel we’re far away. We’ve got good players watching the game today so we’ll keep our confidence and maintain the direction in which we’re going.
“In the first half we were close if not level. The All Blacks have played eight games and had two-and-a-half months together since we last played them and we pressured them.
“They have the experience to close out a game like that. That’s what we’ve got to get.”
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes his side can take limited encouragement.
He said: “There’s no psychological advantage if we don’t make it to the stage [of the World Cup] at which we can play England.
“Some great rugby teams go to the World Cup, it’s not about one team, it’s about five or six. New Zealand have shown they can be top team and not reach the final.”
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