The first weekend of the Autumn Nations Series was always going to be interesting. Two sides in need of an uplifting result, 80,000-plus spectators keen to renew their big match vows in a newly retitled stadium. It duly delivered a flawed classic and a breathtaking finish which saw Steve Borthwick’s side narrowly miss out – again – on a morale-boosting win over the All Blacks.
Reclaiming the Hillary Shield would have been all the sweeter for England following their 2-0 summer series defeat but again they blew chances to land the killer blow. A late 40-metre penalty from George Ford hit an upright and, with the game’s last kick, Ford also missed a drop goal attempt which would have secured a first home win over New Zealand for 12 years.
It all meant the All Blacks narrowly clinched a contest they had seemed certain to lose despite a lopsided try count. All had looked fine for England until the 76th minute when, after deft buildup play from Damian McKenzie, Mark Tele’a escaped down the right, past the tackle of Ford, to score his second try of the game. McKenzie swung over a brilliant touchline conversion and New Zealand, somehow, were ahead.
Even after Ford’s first near miss, England had another opportunity when the Kiwi replacement Ofa Tu’ungafasi knocked on in front of his own posts. Surely the hosts would take it? Unfortunately for Ford, only just back from a quad muscle injury, his drop for glory veered right and condemned England to a fifth defeat in their last six games.
The visitors were spared a painful inquest, having made almost an entire tour’s worth of unforced errors over the 80 minutes. They also donated England a crucial 44th-minute interception try finished by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and could have had few complaints had the result gone the other way. England will be gutted that, yet again, they have plucked defeat from the jaws of victory.
At least it was a memorable occasion for all present. Stirred by the pre-match sight of their side advancing towards haka, the crowd were well entertained throughout and the atmosphere for the first game in England’s rebranded stadium was excellent. Tactically, though, there were flashing early amber warning signals on England’s flanks, with two attempted cross kicks by Beauden Barrett almost paying off.
England’s defensive task was further underlined by New Zealand’s opening try. In theory there should have been no room down the blindside on England’s left but a lovely back-of-the-hand offload from Wallace Sititi gave Tele’a the chance to wrongfoot Ellis Genge and score in the corner. A winger versus a prop in such circumstances is barely a contest.
England, for the most part, were never that clinical in attack. The All Blacks could easily have had a second try when, after a lung-bursting sequence of phases, Ben Spencer’s opposite number Cortez Ratima failed to spot the unmarked Will Jordan outside him and a gilt-edged chance went begging. It was to prove only a temporary reprieve, a slick diagonal switch from Beauden Barrett sending Jordan streaking away for his 36th try in 38 Tests. At 33, Barrett can still do things most players cannot.
England needed some kind of response and found one when Chandler Cunningham-South dislodged the apostrophe from Tupou Vaa’i with a body-shuddering midfield tackle. They were also enjoying some joy in the scrums, with Will Stuart unsettling Tamaiti Williams to allow Marcus Smith to slide over his fourth penalty and narrow the gap to 14-12.
It might have been a different story had the outstanding Sititi, having broken clear up the middle of the field, not thrown a forward pass to the supporting Vaa’i who spilt it anyway with the line begging. England, too, had good reason for the odd grimace when Smith, lining up a drop goal which would have put his side ahead at the interval, scuffed the chance low and wide.
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Was it, therefore, the ideal moment to wheel on England’s winning 2003 World Cup squad for a half-time parade? Comparisons between eras are mostly irrelevant but let’s just say the class of 2003 had a reasonable drop goal practitioner in their midst. In the drum-tight modern game those extra three-pointers are just as vital, if not more so.
There was no guarantee that New Zealand, having conceded eight penalties and 13 turnovers in the first half alone, would be so profligate after the break. While it was clearly a blow to have lost their reliable hooker Codie Taylor after just five minutes, the All Blacks still potentially had enough on the bench to swing the contest.
But England, with six forwards in reserve, also had aspirations of finding another gear and the game swung back their way within four minutes of the restart. When Smith intercepted Ratima’s pass he was 80 metres away from the All Black line but intelligent support from George Furbank gave Feyi-Waboso enough room to burn off the remaining cover and score his maiden Twickenham try.
New Zealand briefly thought they had responded after Caleb Clarke put the omnipresent Beauden Barrett clear. Play, though, was correctly brought back for a Clarke knock-on 60 metres downfield and Smith’s subsequent fifth penalty brought the crowd to their feet.
Ben Curry, on for his brother, Tom, did secure one excellent turnover but for the most part England’s replacements could not quite sustain their side’s previous momentum. There will be other days when Ford kicks the winning goal and England will be hailed for their composure under pressure but, for now, their frustrating run of big game disappointments goes on.