An international season that started on 5 August in Cardiff ended for England on Saturday in Auckland with a feeling of deja vu in the air.
Just like in Dunedin a week earlier, England had stayed in the fight admirably in the first half, rallying either side of the break to take control and threaten to pull off a historic win, before frustratingly fading in the final quarter as the All Blacks bench proved decisive.
So how should England supporters view the 2-0 series defeat? A tour that showed Steve Borthwick’s side are moving in the right direction? Or a huge missed opportunity?
“Absolutely both,” said skipper Jamie George, who led the group with distinction on his first tour as captain.
England have played South Africa, Ireland and France over the past eight months, in addition to two games against New Zealand. The aggregate score against these top four sides in the world is 101-111, with one narrow win and four narrow defeats.
“We are definitely trending in the right direction,” vice-captain Henry Slade said.
“We are pushing the top four sides now and getting better and better week by week.”
The challenge for England now is to get on the right side of these tussles.
“I don’t want to revisit mistakes,” reflected Borthwick on Sunday in downtown Auckland, shortly before starting the long journey home via Sydney and Singapore.
“In each of those games, we’ve been in a position late in the game in a leading position on the scoreboard.”