Codie Taylor runs into contact. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks 16
England 15
Scott Robertson’s highly anticipated era started on a decidedly nervy note with England handing the All Blacks an almighty scare under the Dunedin roof.
Nine months after the All Blacks lost the World Cup final by one point, Robertson received an immediate reminder of the consuming pressures the test arena imposes.
Steve Borthwick’s resurgent England, perhaps underrated by the wider public in their first venture to New Zealand in a decade, gave as good as they got to come within touching distance of breaking their 21-year drought on these shores.
In a high stakes, drama-filled finish, Damian McKenzie ran out of time to kick a 78th-minute penalty that would have pushed the All Blacks four points clear to hand England one last crack at snatching a treasured victory.
The tourists couldn’t achieve their third win on New Zealand soil, with the All Blacks gaining a penalty to end the tense, scrappy contest which sparked an eruption - filled with as much relief as joy - from the 29,000-strong crowd.
When the dust settles, though, England will regret a golden blown opportunity. This was their best chance to strike. And with victory in the offing, they blew it.
Sure, England can take great heart from a performance in which they forced the All Blacks to fight through significant adversity to claim the narrowest of victories. But with the All Blacks in the midst of absorbing extensive change, England needed to seize this chance.
So, too, will England rue Marcus Smith’s two missed kickable penalties and one sideline conversion. Such are the fine margins, those eight points could have flipped this result.
Next week at Eden Park England have one more chance to snap an eight-test losing run in New Zealand that dates back to 2003.
With a limited 10-day preparation window for this assignment, and in the first test since Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Dane Coles, Richie Mo’unga and Shannon Frizell’s influential departures, it’s clear Robertson’s All Blacks have plenty of work to do. Their cleanout work and lineout accuracy will be top of the list.
Locked 10-10 after a dominant first half from the All Blacks, England stole the ascendancy with a try to wing Immanuel Feyi-Wabos. Largely confined to the backfoot, England savoured a third quarter of dominance to put a serious squeeze on the All Blacks.
With Maro Itoje leading the charge in typically menacing fashion at the breakdown and pressuring the All Blacks malfunctioning lineout, which botched three of their own throws, England grasped the upper hand.
Suddenly 21-year-old New Zealand-raised blindside Chandler Cunningham-South busted through the All Blacks defence with a powerful ball-carrying presence.
English halfback Alex Mitchell probed holes with sharp, sniping runs around the ruck, to leave the All Blacks rattled at times.
Trailing by five points, the All Blacks turned to their bench to inject impetus. Two McKenzie penalties, the second regaining the lead with 15 minutes remaining, proved enough for Robertson’s tenure to emerge shaken and stirred but ultimately successful.
England’s midfield rush found early success hitting McKenzie on the second-man play but the All Blacks soon found space on the edges.
McKenzie, with his slick distribution and bravery under the high ball, combined brilliantly in a playmaking capacity with Stephen Perofeta. McKenzie laid on the opening try with a pin-point cross-field kick for Sevu Reece. Perofeta then followed suit by seamlessly slipping past England No 8 Ben Earl to send Ardie Savea over to immediately justify his inclusion over Beauden Barrett.
McKenzie’s goal kicking – he missed two conversions – was the only blight on his otherwise composed first-half performance but, without a dominant front-foot platform, his option-taking and execution dipped in the second spell.
Mark Tele’a and Reece constantly went looking for work from their wings to cause havoc for England’s defence.
Up front the All Blacks dominated the scrum platform but didn’t always get the rewards with some bizarre scrum interpretations from Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli.
England did, however, exploit the All Blacks defence with their short kicking game. And their first try to Itoje was far too easy following two carries off the lineout.
The All Blacks were guilty at times of overplaying their hand inside their half. Their instinct is to use the ball and attack space which stretched the English defence to breaking point. But with execution lacking in the first test of the year, a late breakdown penalty allowed England to draw level at halftime.
TJ Perenara, in his first test for 20 months after battling back from two Achilles surgeries, injured his knee late in the first half when Scott Barrett collapsed on top of him following a cleanout. Perenara did not return for the second spell, with Finlay Christie taking his place at the base.
Robertson’s tenure is underway with a victory but the new All Blacks coaching crew have one week to inspire significant improvements before confronting England again.
All Blacks: Sevu Reece, Ardie Savea tries, Damian McKenzie pen 2
England: Maro Itoje, Immanuel Feyi-Wabos tries, Marcus Smith con, pen
HT: 10-10