It was last-gasp heartbreak for England against New Zealand as fly-half George Ford missed two opportunities to win as the All Blacks edge past Steve Borthwick’s side 24-22 at the Allianz Stadium, formerly known as Twickenham.
The Sale man missed a penalty with minutes remaining as he thundered the ball against the post before his drop-kick sailed wide of the mark with the final kick of the game.
Tight first-half encounter
England fly-half, Marcus Smith, scored the first points of the match with a straight-forward penalty before Mark Tele’a rounded Ellis Genge as the All Blacks winger crashed into the corner for the first try on nine minutes.
The fly-half scored another penalty to get within a point of the visitors before Will Jordan raced through England’s leaky defence for an easy score. Two more three-pointers from Smith meant England were still in the contest without scoring a try of their own.
Dramatic second half
Minutes into the second half, Smith was the catalyst to the Red Rose’s only try of the contest.
The 25-year old intercepted from scrum-half Cortez Ratima to burst into New Zealand’s half, catching Scott Maurice Robertson’s side scuttling back into defence.
Backs George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso put on the afterburners to help out his teammate before the latter touched down to take the lead, 19-14.
Veteran Beauden Barrett went through for the southern hemisphere side to score a try, but Caleb Clarke was deemed to have deliberately knocked the ball beforehand allowing Smith to extend England’s lead with another penalty scored.
Replacement Damian McKenzie coolly slotted home his kick to reduce the losing margin to five points. Five minutes from time, Tele’a charged his legs and outmuscled three white shirts to restore New Zealand’s lead with a converted try, but only by two points.
With the clock ticking, substitute Ford missed what would be an easy kick on the training ground as the ball clattered off the post. Then with the last kick of the game he stuttered again as his normally reliable right boot pushed the ball wide of the target to send the travelling fans into a frenzy.
England left to regret once again against New Zealand
England were on top before entering the latter stages where Head Coach Borthwick changed his front row. The 45-year old then replaced the dazzling Smith and impressive scrum-half Ben Spencer in the final quarter.
The hosts dominated in the scrums before replacing their front row on 52 minutes. Experience was needed to see this enthralling test match out; Joe Marler has plenty of that but has called time on his international career after 95 caps.
The Harlequins prop also poked fun at New Zealand’s infamous Haka in the week which added more fuel to a roaring fire between the two sides.
England have now lost three times to the All Blacks this year, losing by a combined score difference of 10 points, so close yet so far for Borthwick’s side.
They must learn from their mistakes, starting with Australia on Saturday.
By Jack Bunclark
