England v All Blacks: Five takeaways as Steve Borthwick’s men ‘only have themselves to blame’ while New Zealand ‘find a way’

Following the All Blacks’ 24-22 victory over England at Twickenham Stadium, here are our five takeaways from the Autumn Nations Series clash.

The top line

Chaos reigned at Twickenham as the game fell into confusion as George Ford missed a last-minute drop goal to allow New Zealand to steal glory from England in a gritty encounter in front of a packed house.

Damian McKenzie’s accuracy off the tee was responsible for their memorable win with a magnificent touchline conversion to take the visitors two points clear after some fantastic work down the touchline by Mark Tele’a, a constant thorn in England’s side, adding a second score to his opening try in the eighth minute of the game.

With Marcus Smith intercepting a step pass from Cortez Ratima to go 65 metres before he combined with George Furbank to send Immanuel Feyi-Waboso over for a magnificent try, England’s early accuracy off the tee kept them in the match before Tele’a struck for the second time.

The last four minutes, with England two points behind, saw the home fans biting their nails to the quick as Ford firstly hit a post with a penalty he should not have missed, followed by a last-moment drop goal that drifted wide to gift New Zealand their win.

All Blacks snatch another late victory as George Ford’s errors prove costly for England

Frenetic 10

England conceded a couple of quite bizarre penalties to allow New Zealand back into the game.

Firstly, we saw Marius Jonker intervene for a Ben Earl no-arms tackle that he described as ‘shoulder first then tried to wrap.’ Given that description offered it was a nonsensical decision that smacked more of ignorance of the dynamics of defensive technique than bearing any relationship to the law book.

Angus Gardner, outstanding elsewhere, had no alternative but to call the penalty on advice and up stepped McKenzie to kick a key three-pointer to get within a score of England. Two moments later, Tele’a scored and the rest is history, as they say.

But England didn’t need to let the All Blacks in. They dropped off in concentration on the basics of exit and legal control in those last 10 minutes, perhaps lacking the confidence and wherewithal to know how to close a close game out.

Given this is the third time in a row England have flattered to deceive in three consecutive tests against New Zealand, you both feel for them whilst also worrying about both morale and temperament. It is now number one on the top of Steve Borthwick’s to-do list to learn to close out tight games.

Breakdown precision

Nick Easter identified in the week that England had not won a turnover against New Zealand in their last 160 minutes of Test rugby. It took England until the 221st minute of rugby against the All Blacks to grab one, as Ben Curry nabbed a crucial grab as New Zealand threatened down the right flank.

But sometimes rugby needs to be measured on the dark arts as much as the art gallery painting. Led by a monumental effort from the outstanding Tom Curry, ably supported by Earl and Maro Itoje, England’s sheer precision in their height and speed was a marked step up from the lame efforts witnessed during the summer series.

It was a wonderfully intelligent and legal effort, summed up perfectly by Curry’s moment of magic under the All Blacks’ posts that saw him competing at the breakdown, then pressuring the New Zealand 10 and 12 before forcing a key knock-on, all in 10 seconds of unadulterated openside pressure.

With New Zealand tightening their game up a lot in the second period, England’s efforts around the fringes was something very special indeed and credit should go to the returning Curry brothers for leading the hosts’ short defence in two very special performances from the Sale twins, with a big shout out to the crushing hits of the superb Chandler Cunningham-South.

Fans left awestruck after ‘spine tingling’ All Blacks Haka as England and New Zealand players square-off

Defensive numbers

England will rue their numbering up in simple primary defence that allowed the All Blacks to score twice in the first half.

They only have themselves to blame in each instance; Feyi-Waboso conceded the softest of offside penalties and a lineout and recycle later saw Wallace Sititi and Tele’a attacking the short side against three defenders. But in defence, quality is as important as quantity, and when Furbank decided to bite in to double team with Tommy Freeman on Sititi, it left Tele’a with a simple one-on-one with Ellis Genge, a head-to-head that had only one probable outcome, and despite a flailing effort, the England prop was left grabbing thin air as the Kiwi wing skinned him with a jink and go.

Not content with one blunder, in the 28th minute, New Zealand brought their extra man now to the narrow side only to find Genge defending one out in a key channel. Will Jordan is a man that needs no second invitation and a show-and-go saw Genge left for dead in a position he simply should not have been in in the first place.

But England responded well in spirit to their own technical errors. Led by a massive physical display by Cunningham-South, who lifted Twickenham and his team with an atomising hit on Tupou Vaa’i and aided and abetted by Tom Curry and some really dogged work from Henry Slade, who showed his ability to stay in the fight, England may have lacked organisational precision but they certainly gave all in their commitment to their cause.

Shining stars

England’s back five, to a man, produced an immense display of defence, and they’ll take a lot of credit for getting the England side so close to the line.

But in the backline, the absence of Alex Mitchell really constrained the attacking threat of the English midfield who were blunt in attack despite their formidable shift on the other side of the ball. Other than Feyi-Waboso and Marcus Smith, England looked sluggish, unprepared to create moments of continuity and threat, and it’s key they now get some pace into the team somewhere outside of those two outstanding youngsters.

For New Zealand’s part, they defended and exited like schoolboys at time, yet the brilliance of their back three, Sititi and their front-row replacements did just enough. But they will be concerned at their lack of control at halfback, their inability to get through the England primary line and also their lack of return at the breakdown.

However, the difference between England and New Zealand is the All Blacks find a way when things are not going to plan in every department and that’s something England need to capture and replicate if they’re to kick on in the Borthwick era.

READ MORE: All Blacks: Why New Zealand Rugby could be fined for Twickenham Haka