Instead, super-sub Beauden Barrett had to provide the winning sparkle as an England team lacking enough self-belief ran out of puff when the All Blacks finally found another gear.
The underprepared All Blacks were fortunate, with the final refereeing decision in the first game at Dunedin, a mysterious ruck penalty, killing off England’s hopes. No damage done.
Eden Park was a different story, despite the victory.
An English pack with great strengths and serious holes again often outplayed the home side and evened up the scrum battle.
The All Blacks lacked energy and cohesion, apart from a second-half burst inspired by the peerless Barrett.
A concern was the apparent dimming of Jason Ryan’s influence.
The new assistant was lauded for sorting out the forwards under Ian Foster. But the English pack, led by magnificent locks Maro Itoje and George Martin, often sorted out the All Blacks pack.
More preparation time didn’t create improvements.
Robertson was supposed to be a new broom reshaping All Blacks rugby, because that is what is desperately needed.
So far, he is merely a fortunate tinkerer.
The immediate safe harbour is an assumption that Robertson is still learning his craft as an international coach, but we have already assumed too much.
Meanwhile, in Durban, one of rugby’s most hardened coaches was wielding incredible influence as Ireland pipped the Springboks via two late drop goals.
Rugby’s naive ways were always ripe for the picking by rugby league minds, and Andy Farrell is in that tradition.
Former British league captain Farrell has such a sense of authority that he dropped his captain Peter O’Mahony to the bench for the second test, after a close first test. He told his players they hadn’t fought for each other in Pretoria.
This second Ireland-South Africa game was played like a claustrophobic World Cup final... slow scrums, stoppages, lack of tries and all.
Ireland kept the ball in hand the way Fort Knox looks after gold, while mainly brutal South Africa had moments of costly, frivolous spending.
It looked like a different sport from what went on at Eden Park (and Melbourne).
A series victory is not to be sniffed at. Scott Robertson won an important battle against England, but he has yet to deal with a real test war.
WINNER: South Africa’s rugby grounds
Magnificent tiered cauldrons.
WINNER: Spanish football
Big football tournaments have had no more deserving winners than this side from Spain, who beat England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin. As should happen with great teams, they introduced a potential new superstar in 17-year-old Lamine Yamal.
Nico Williams of Spain celebrates scoring during the Euro 2024 final match between Spain and England in Berlin. Photo / Getty Images
WINNER: Fate
Incredible... a photo emerged of football legend Lionel Messi holding Spanish wonder kid Lamine Yamal when he was just a few months old. The picture was taken for a charity calendar.
From @TheAthleticFC: “Nobody could imagine that this baby would be who he is now — you could not have known that Messi would become who he became, either."
The Black Ferns’ transtasman “battles” are an embarrassment. The Ferns scored another walkover win, by 62-0, over the hapless Wallaroos in Brisbane. A lack of drama is holding the game back.
LOSER: Andrei Mikhailovich... most unfairly
The Auckland middleweight had his shot at glory snatched away, for now, when champion Janibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan pulled out of the Las Vegas fight because of dehydration.
Preparing for big fights – ones that can change your life – is a gruelling business. It’s hard to imagine the letdown Mikhailovich is experiencing.
A sweet moment, and also a bittersweet one, for the Czech tennis player Krejcikova, who followed the path of her mentor Jana Novotna in winning Wimbledon. Novotna passed away seven years ago, aged just 49.
Typical Djokovic – he had a humourless moment involving a crowd reaction during the tournament, yet showed his steel by making a Grand Slam final just six weeks after he had a knee operation.
This might be a watershed moment for tennis, with Spaniard Alcaraz delivering on promise and tipped to chase marks set by tennis legends. At 21, he has four Grand Slam titles.
But the incredible Djokovic, even at the age of 37, is not one to accept being swept aside.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the Gentleman's Singles Trophy after his victory over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. Photo / Getty Images
LOSER: The Ryder Cup
Golf’s hotly contested team event got a smack in the mouth when Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy turned down the captaincy of the USA and Europe. Fans were eagerly awaiting a Woods v McIlroy contest. Both men said they were too busy.
LOSER: Lydia Ko... our women’s golf
New Zealand has marvelled at Lydia Ko for so long... but where are her Kiwi successors?
Ko was well off the pace in the latest major event, the Evian Championship in France, and she could end her career stranded a point short of making the Hall of Fame.
LOSER: French rugby
The touring side had two players charged with aggravated rape in Argentina, after another was sent home for a violently racist post. Losing to the Pumas feels irrelevant after that.
