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All Blacks snatch another tight victory from England at Eden Park
By Ned Lester
A 30-year winning streak was on the line as England and New Zealand took the field at Eden Park, meaning national pride and the Steinlager Series trophy weren’t the only things driving the players in the contest.
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It was another nail-biting affair, with just one score in it at the death. But again, it was New Zealand on the better side of the scoreboard when the final whistle was blown, winning 24-17.
Codie Taylor and Finlay Christie combined for a driving tackle on Chandler Cunningham-South for the first big play of the game, with an equally strong breakdown drive winning possession for the Kiwis.
Play swung from end to end early as both teams found space and made breaks, but handling errors from the home side and quality desperation defence from the visitors kept scores locked.
England’s scrum was under pressure early, with Ben Earl doing well to get the ball out from their first effort, but a penalty was awarded to New Zealand on the second.
From that scrum, a lineout infringement from England handed the All Blacks a crack at the line from 15 metres out. Multiple powerful carries from Ardie Savea got the Kiwis on the front foot before Mark Tele’a wriggled over the line in the corner. Damian McKenzie added the extras from the sideline.
It took just two minutes for England to strike back, with a perfectly weighted crossfield kick from Marcus Smith finding Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who found the angle to beat the final two defenders and cross the line untouched. Marcus Smith converted from the friendly angle.
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Smith’s boot was active in open play in the following minutes, but a counter-attack was ignited by Damian McKenzie, who connected with Mark Tele’a and Stephen Perofeta, who passed back and forth until just metres shy of the try line, where again the desperate defence of England saw Marcus Smith win the intercept and save the try.
Playing under advantage, a cross-field kick from McKenzie dribbled over the sideline just beyond the reach of Sevu Reece. McKenzie then opted to take the three points on offer, making the score 10-7 in the hosts’ favour.
England opportunistically got themselves deep into New Zealand territory with a swiftly taken restart, where play remained for 10 minutes as the All Blacks’ efforts to win back possession resulted in exits that only made it as far as the 22.
Finlay Christie then smothered Earl off the back of another scrum and the breakdown turnover saw play return to England’s half. New Zealand’s lineout struggles saw the throw go straight to Maro Itoje and the pressure was momentarily relieved.
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England’s defence held strong in their own half, but their breakdown discipline allowed McKenzie to take another three points off the tee as halftime neared.
One final assault from the visitors saw them press further and further into New Zealand territory, until another cross-field kick from Smith isolated Tele’a, who, standing still, was no match for a Tommy Freeman in full stride, as the England flyer cleared his opposite, claiming the high ball and finding the try line. Marcus Smith nailed the wide conversion to steal a one-point lead heading into the break.
A kicking duel greeted fans on the other side of halftime, with box kick after box kick ending in a penalty when Jordie Barrett tackled Marcus Smith in the air.
The ensuing England attack was ended by a knock-on 10 metres from the New Zealand line. The exit again struggled to make it much further than the 22m line and a lineout indiscretion from New Zealand handed England a shot at the posts. Smith obliged and extended his side’s lead to four.
England doubled down on their pressure game and forced an error from Sevu Reece, who kicked it out on the full, offering the visitors another attack deep in New Zealand territory. While that play ended with an overly ambitious Marcus Smith chip-kick, New Zealand again struggled to exit their half.
A lineout steal changed that momentum in an instant and Beauden Barrett chased his clearance kick to make the tackle. New Zealand won possession and another kick found touch five metres from the English line.
The clearance found Beauden Barrett, and play swung from wing to wing before Barrett got his hands on the ball once more and made the clean break, finding Tele’a who touched down in the corner. The conversion was away, making for a familiar one-point All Blacks lead with 20 minutes to play.
Another Barrett break came by way of the rare volley off a chip-kick, and with field position in pocket, the team benefitted from another England infringement, allowing McKenzie to add three more points and make the lead 21-17.
With tensions high, the Kiwi scrum made their move and won the penalty. Another lineout penalty went the way of New Zealand and McKenzie stepped up to make the lead seven.
Four minutes remained and England were far from done, as Ollie Sleightholme beat Reece down the touchline and set up what would be one final stand with a shot at a draw.
New Zealand resisted the initial march, winning the breakdown turnover, but England came straight back at them thanks to Marcus Smith taking the quick throw to himself.
The final play of the contest saw the ball held up over the line and England penalised for offside. Fulltime score: 24-17.
NZ scheduled to play England, Ireland then France in the Autumn. Oh dear!
Italy booked in the 4th week just incase a wooden spoon is on the cards but Italy owe NZ too.
Razor will be the new Fossie!
2 games in we can take some positives from the tight wins against an excellent English side. A) our scrum was solid, B) our bench made an impact, C) some new players exposed to the sharp end of the test arena, and will benefit immensely, and D) the coaching team now have some valuable data on thier squad and who they can trust going forward, and who needs to go back to the trenches to work on thier game. Give some credit to England they exposed us in a lot of areas, and for much of both tests were the better side, I take that as a massive positive as well, we were challenged and managed to pull through, this can only serve us well moving ahead.
still haven’t seen the Forward pack step up enough to create space for the backs , So it’s hard to judge how good or bad dmac and Christie really are . Dmac still appears dangerous with ball in hand but his kicking for space isn’t good enough . Christie’s delivery appears slow . Pressure could be why . Reiko isn’t damaging enough at 12 . And that line out is so bad … not sure what’s happening there .
never seen a better super sub then BB . Would of been crazy to see a mounga / Jordan combination and BB coming of the bench .
This is the only game review. Were about to be flooded with lunch time articles of what all the players comments were though, like it’s hard hitting content.
Can’t wait to see what this RP future looks like, should open up more doors for more relevant content.
As long as All Blacks play Christie, their backs will never get “quick ball, which allows All Blacks to play “The All Black DNA/Style” which has entertained fans all over the world for 120 years.
Beauden Barrett demonstrated the All Black core DNA for 31 minutes. He faced the fear and ran the ball as his first option. He remained calm, lifted the whole team, including Damian McKenzie, which WON the game.
I still believe we can WIN all 14 games.
The All Blacks need to find a way to consistently get over the gain line.England just smashed our runners dead in their tracks.
Have to agree with Gregor Paul on this one.
The All Blacks have the right mental fortitude, but they are leaving themselves open to a call not going their way or the opposition taking an opportunity and losing the game.
It isn’t sustainable to keep playing with only resilience.
ABs need quick service and an additional playmaker at 15. BB and Ratima provided that which gave everyone a little bit more time to find space. We don't really have players in motion and seem static with our runners. Respect must be given to England who played awesome, nice attack couple with ferocious defense. Awesome series and both teams will improve a lot.
Gripping contest with a lot on the line for the ABs - foremost of which was a 30 year record on Eden Park to defend. Still plenty of work-ons in the side but Ratima showed he is up to this level and BB reminded everyone of his enduring skill, speed and class with his injection marking the lift to x-factor AB rugby. All the bench lifted the performance and Vai’i, replacement front row, ALB and the two halves made their case. LJ contributed solidly but did not show out. The in-game strategy shifts seem to be working - something recent AB teams seem to have struggled with. Not sure if lessons learned by senior leaders are driving this or coaching scenario run-throughs but it is a notable shift for me. This England team has a lot of growth in it and are very comfortable playing a complete game. Much more enjoyable to watch than previous versions and they are definitely top tier and capable of beating anyone on their day.
First up to any of the ABs fans who accused us of “bluster” pre-series for saying it would be a competitive - I'm glad it turned out to be an excellent series to which the ABs were deserving winners and I hope next time a side tours you'll be a little more humble.
I loved the heart shown by the English boys and how they managed to contain the AB attack for large parts of the series. Was very disappointed by the lack of cohesion and ambition ball in hand, we looked after the ball poorly and hardly went 2 phases without kicking it away. We're not giving ourselves enough opportunity to put phases together and build pressure. The ambition shown in the 6N against Ireland and France seems to have gone and our players look very hesitant with ball in hand, we look much better when Marcus is taking the ball flat and boys are running hard at the line. So frustrating when we're starting to build pressure in the 22 we go back to the grubber kick then find ourselves back on the half way line 10 seconds later. We've shown great success with our box kicking game but we need to leave the flipping grubber kick in the locker room. Like the Marcus Smith hail Mary miss pass that went straight to Mark Telea, we seem to have no patience. Sometimes we just need to recycle the ball and go again.
Loving seeing Maro back to his best and Fin Baxter really impressed, Alex Mitchell looks to be one of the most complete 9s in world rugby, great around the base and impeccable kicking.
Congrats to the ABs, far more dangerous and skillful than England. We contained you for large swathes but to shut down that amount of pace and skill for 80 mins is nigh on impossible. Managed to find a way to win and instinctively grabbed the rare opportunities which came your way. Finding ways to win in two tight test matches will I'm sure be a great experience for your younger players. Beauden needs to be in the starting 15, what a worldie.
The ABs continue to give Razor & his coaches excellent on-field data that is vital for development as a squad, a coaching team, & for personal growth. And as the two-test-match losing opponent is the formidable English team, the data is high level. Far better than if we’d have played say Japan or even, Wales.
I wish Razor well for the last of three tests that the current squad was selected for, versus Fiji in San Diego. I expect Fiji will come out hissing so we need to be on our toes. They won’t be a pushover by any means. After that, I look forward to the naming of the TRC squad. Exciting times ahead.