England were left in disarray as they missed another chance to dismantle New Zealand after George Ford failed to convert a last-minute penalty and a drop-goal attempt in a 24-22 defeat at the Allianz Stadium.
The All Blacks regained the lead when Mark Tele’a sacked his second of two tries, but the hosts were given a late chance to snatch victory when Anton Lienert-Brown made a dangerous tackle on Theo Dan.
Ford saw his penalty hit straight down the right in the 77th minute and even netted a drop goal in a heartbreaking conclusion to the Autumn Nations Series opener after England failed to make the most of the ensuing short-range scrum.
England professional Joe Marler ignited the match by dismissing the Haka as “foolish” and calling for it to be “banned”, but the fireworks promised by All Blacks captain Scott Barrett in response were not delivered until the final stages. It didn’t work.
Instead, a disappointingly poor New Zealand side stumbled through two quarters as England looked to avenge a 2-0 loss to the same opponents in July.
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The All Blacks were helped by weaknesses in their home defense that saw Ellis Genge exposed twice, but showed their killer instinct in first-half tries from Tele’a and Will Jordan.
Marcus Smith’s consistent penalty kicks – two of which were won by England’s dominant scrum – kept the hosts in the fight and turned the game around. Their flyhalf orchestrated a vital score from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
But New Zealand were not done as they engineered a vital touchline run from Tele’a, which was improved upon by Damian McKenzie’s touchdown conversion.
Mahler’s views on the haka were clearly not shared by the crowd of 82,000 who roared as they watched England advance to the half-way line to be met with a Maori war dance ahead of kick-off.
It was a fascinating sight that was soon matched by England’s slick start as they used a short chip on the wing to move downfield and the pressure earned Smith a penalty.
But Wallace Sititi evacuated two tacklers and produced a stunning offload to wing Tele’a, who eluded Genge and danced down the touchline. All good work was quickly undone as the goal was scored.
Smith hit back with a penalty and after some nervy exchanges England were the first team to make successive breaks with Maro Itoje releasing Ben Spencer for one of them.
Jordie Barrett, serving as a reminder of New Zealand’s threat, slipped through a pack of white shirts to launch a counterattack that eventually led to a second try through Jordan.
When Beauden Barrett and Jordan combined beautifully to manipulate the vulnerabilities of England’s ruck defence, their vision and pace exposed the unfortunate Genge.
Match Summary
Smith’s boot was all that kept the hosts in contention, although a monster hit from Tupou Vaa’i by Chandler Cunningham-South continued to lift the rising spirits when a scrum penalty produced a further three points for Smith.
New Zealand led 14-12 at the interval but Smith went ahead in the 44th minute after intercepting a pass from Cortez Ratima before George Furbank provided the link for Feyi-Waboso to score.
Smith read the All Blacks’ intentions brilliantly and the Harlequins playmaker now took center stage, his fifth penalty completing a huge swing when the tourists had an attempt disallowed due to a deliberate knock-on.
McKenzie’s penalty put the finishing touches on the crowd and it was New Zealand who held their nerve.
