New Zealand v England LIVE rugby: Result as Borthwick’s side suffer heartbreak against All Blacks in thriller
New Zealand 24-17 England: The tourists were attempting to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park for the first time in 30 years
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
England narrowly missed out on becoming the first side to conquer the All Blacks at Eden Park in 30 years as New Zealand secured a 24-17 victory in Auckland.
The hosts clung on in the final moments to make certain of a 2-0 series victory after their bench made a decisive impact to swing the contest the home side’s way. Beauden Barrett sparked his team into life on the hour, creating a second try for the impressive Mark Tele’a and turning the screw with his intelligent kicking game.
But Steve Borthwick will rue the missed opportunities of a tour that showed the promising future at his side’s fingertips. Having been pipped by a point in Dunedin, England never quite had enough in the final quarter to get over the line in Auckland having seemed in control with Marcus Smith influential from the tee and in open play.
Two crossfield kicks from fly half Smith created tries for both England wings in the first half, but it was not enough to breach the All Blacks’ fortress as the hosts held firm in the final minute. The two sides will tussle again at Twickenham in November.
Re-live all of the action from New Zealand vs England below:
England rue missed opportunity as New Zealand extend Eden Park dominance
England’s hopes of recording a famous win at Eden Park were foiled by a Beauden Barrett-inspired comeback from New Zealand who triumphed 24-17 at their Auckland fortress.
Tries from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman created by the laser-guided boot of Marcus Smith helped Steve Borthwick’s men into a 14-13 half-time lead.
In a cathartic day for Smith, he was 100 per cent from the kicking tee having been wasteful in last Saturday’s 16-15 defeat, as part of a classy all-round display topped by the precise chips to his wings.
England’s fly-half then extended the lead to four points with a penalty but on came Barrett and rattled New Zealand were transformed from a side that were unable to escape the tourists’ stranglehold into a potent force.
Barrett’s super-sub cameo conjured a try for Mark Tele’a, ignited the All Blacks’ attack and produced a series of important inventions.
England had been magnificent until his arrival with second rows Maro Itoje and George Martin and Feyi-Waboso outstanding, aided by the leveller of the hosts’ spectacular line-out malfunction.
But, despite dominating territory and possession in the third quarter, points were elusive and they fell short with an overtime attempt to snatch a draw when a line-out drive that reached the line was penalised.
England rue missed opportunity as New Zealand extend Eden Park dominance
New Zealand 24-17 England: Steve Borthwick’s side suffered another narrow defeat as the All Blacks secured a 2-0 series victory
Steve Borthwick on England’s defeat
“The players will be rightly proud of their efforts. The team is progressing, though clearly there is work to do to get to where we want to. We are making steps forward.
“If you look at the game and the two teams, sometimes you can’t buy experience. We are a young side, we are developing really fast, but they’ve got 300 more caps than our team and can bring Beauden Barrett off the bench. You saw the impact he had in both games. We will maximise every learning moment from these games to ensure we are a better team come the autumn series when we are back together.”
New Zealand hold on to extend Eden Park unbeaten run with victory over England
So many positives to take for England in defeat. Maro Itoje and Jamie George both put in huge shifts at the end of colossal seasons that began 13 months ago when Steve Borthwick first assembled his squad to prepare for the World Cup, while Marcus Smith was excellent for an hour to put his side in control. But that is three near misses in succession for Borthwick’s side, admittedly against top teams - work to do on closing out contests before a very tough autumn itinerary that begins with that All Blacks clash on November 2.
Here is Borthwick speaking to Sky...
And All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett speaks to the host broadcaster
“I’m hugely proud of the boys for winning the arm-wrestle to finish off a good performance. Test matches certainly challenge your character and we had to dig deep there. Well done to England - they’ve had two strong Tests against us.
“I think it is adapting in game. What works at the start of the game probably doesn’t later in the game, and I thought we adapted well to get our noses in front. You are never comfortable in this environment, so we are looking to build on the last two performances. We’re excited to go to San Diego to play Fiji.”
Jamie George reflects on England’s 2-0 series defeat
“It has been a long season for us dating back to the start of the World Cup, and I think we are a significantly better team than when we started. We’ll welcome them back to Twickenham in November and we’re already looking forward to that. I don’t think there is a ceiling on this [England] team. You look at the age demographic, there are guys who are desperate to learn and it’s a huge pleasure to be a part of.
“I love New Zealand. It’s an incredible country to come and tour, I’m used to drama at Eden Park. Huge congratulations to the All Blacks, they are a great team.”
Maro Itoje reacts to England’s defeat
“We were not as accurate as we wanted to be,” the lock tells Sky Sports. “We gave away a few too many penalties to give them easy points and easy territory. When you are playing against a good team, you can’t really do that.
“I just think we weren’t accurate so we gave their backfield opportunity to run it back to us. Beauden Barrett and the rest are good players, so you don’t want to give them opportunities. We live, and we learn.
“It’s tough. I think we’ve showed some improvements with the way we’ve played the game, but it wasn’t our day. We are at the start of our journey, we are only going to get better from these experiences.”
FT: New Zealand 24-17 England
Agonising again for England, but the All Blacks simply do not lose at Eden Park! It took the hosts an hour to come properly to the party, New Zealand reliant once more on the impact of their bench to tilt the contest their way. But what impact the replacements made, Beauden Barrett sensational as the hosts’ closer to secure a 2-0 series victory.
New Zealand 24-17 England, 80 minutes
It will be New Zealand’s penalty! A clear obstruction from Ollie Lawrence as he shears away from the stalled maul to re-generate momentum with Jamie George in his boot. George pleads his case but the footage is clear - that will be that. The All Blacks’ 30-year winning run at Eden Park goes on!
New Zealand 24-17 England, 80 minutes
Jamie George picks his target, Maro Itoje taking safely. England try to maul, but New Zealand’s defensive shove is well built.
Or is it! In pour the England backs to edge it closer....but there are All Blacks bodies beneath the ball as George comes to floor!
Is that the end? Perhaps not! Nic Berry wants to check the actions of the New Zealand players to see if it was collapsed, calling in TMO Brett Cronan, who has had nothing to do for 80 minutes but may now decide the outcome...
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments