All Blacks Edge Out England at Twickenham

Completing a three-Test 2024 clean sweep over England with their heart-stopping 24-22 win at Twickenham, the All Blacks overcame a determined home defence and a wealth of unforced errors to claim the Hillary Shield.

A 75th-minute sideline Damian McKenzie conversion, a penalty goal denied by a goalpost and a missed dropped goal attempt, both in the last two minutes by England replacement George Ford, saw the All Blacks emerge with their win by performing in their troubled final quarter. 

They scored three tries to one but conceded five penalty goals. Coach Scott Robertson summed it up, "We didn't get a lot right, but we got enough right."

Central to that was the bench effort, which saw props Ofa Tu'ungafasi and Palisio Tosi overcome the England scrum for the first time in the game, and that gave the All Blacks helpful momentum.

Flanker Wallace Sititi had another outstanding game, heading the loose forward tackle count with nine, he made 80 metres, the most of any player in the game. Sam Cane made eight tackles and crucial turnovers, while replacement lock Patrick Tuipulotu was a powerhouse with the ball in hand throughout the second half.

Frustrated to concede a 45th-minute intercept try, the All Blacks conceded another penalty goal to England's first five-eighths Marcus Smith, who landed five in the game and were down 14-22.

But, replacement back Damian McKenzie landed a 67th-minute penalty to reduce the margin to five, and then after a tap penalty was played in front of England's posts in the 75th minute. The ball went through two phases, but when it was moved wide, fullback Will Jordan got it to wing Mark Tele'a. He had a man in front of him but was able to work his way toward the line and got over in the tackle for his second try of the game.

Using his 60 seconds to the full, McKenzie landed a magnificent sideline conversion to secure the winning margin.

However, the win was not assured. Replacement back Anton Lienert-Brown was sin-binned for tackling a man off the ball, an All Blacks fault on the night. 

It was then Ford hit the posts with a penalty goal attempt, and while replacement lock Patrick Tuipulotu, who had been outstanding since coming on a minute into the second half, lost the rebound forward, England could not give Ford the time or space to land a dropped goal. He had a chance, but it was hurried, resulting from pressure on him by replacement halfback Cam Roigard. 

Mistake-ridden play from the All Blacks masked that they had been playing while England was having its first game since July and looking for a more ordered combination, especially in defensive alignment.

The All Blacks were not helped when a 58th-minute try by Beauden Barrett was ruled out due to a deliberate knock-on by wing Caleb Clarke when attempting a tackle. Aumua had picked up the loose ball and set in place a move that saw Clarke break down the flank and feed Barrett, who was unchallenged to score. 

England was not without fault. It took an up and under from a penalty out from the All Blacks line, but it was secured, and a goal line dropout was achieved. 

The All Blacks used blindside alley with deadly effect to score their first two tries. The first, after eight minutes, saw flanker Wallace Sititi get his hands past the tackler and able to backhand the ball to wing Mark Tele'a. He saw his marker was prop Ellis Genge, and he beat him for speed.

The second was from a midfield ruck where Barrett ran blind to drag the defence wide to execute a perfect reverse pass to fullback Will Jordan, who ran close to the pack and then back out to run in from 22m for his 36th Test try.

If the All Blacks were frustrated by lost opportunities due to faulty handling, the most apparent being after a superb midfield break by Sititi five minutes out from halftime when lock Tupou Vaa'i wasn't able to hold a pass with the line open and support at hand, England failed to take their best chance in first half injury time.

They won a penalty from a lineout maul and called on centre Henry Slade to kick to the All Blacks' 22m area to build another maul. But the All Blacks contested, and England's ball was untidy. Unable to build their assault, England couldn't build a drive, and Smith was forced to attempt a dropped goal, only to miscue and leave the All Blacks with a 14-12 lead at the break.

Hooker Asafo Aumua was on the field after three minutes when Codie Taylor suffered a head blow and failed an HIA.

Apart from the handling issues, the All Blacks were down 8-1 in penalties, mainly the result of not choosing the correct ball runner as England ran close, making it difficult to identify their target. By full-time, the margin was reduced to 11-7

Despite that, they achieved 57 percent possession, requiring England to make 179 tackles to 105. England missed 24 tackles to 15 by the All Blacks as they made 492 metres to 371, carried 492 times to 371, and won the rucks 108-71.

Into the second half, New Zealand contested early lineouts and were building position when Smith picked off a ruck pass by Ratima, and he headed downfield with good support as the ball was transferred for wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to score three minutes into the half.

England 22 (Immanuel Feyi-Waboso tries; Marcus Smith con, 5 pen) New Zealand 24 (Mark Tele'a 2, Will Jordan tries; Beauden Barrett 2 con; Damian McKenzie con, pen). HT: 12-14

England: 15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Dombrandt, 22 Harry Randall, 23 George Ford.

New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua,  17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie.

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)