New Zealand outscored England by four tries to two in their 37-20 win in Auckland on Saturday.
Fly-half Dan Carter finished with 22 points, including a try, as the All Blacks recorded a fifth straight victory over England since a June 2003 loss in Wellington.
One positive for England was debutant winger Topsy Ojo touching down twice with two well taken tries, but in reality, neither came from great English play.
We’re disappointed with the end result and really, when you analyze it, they were better with the ball than we were and that was the difference,” Rob Andrew, tour coach and England’s elite rugby director, told the BBC.
England took an early 6-3 lead after a powerful start from the forwards which saw Olly Barkley kicking two penalties either side of Carter’s first score. New Zealand then took control as Conrad Smith and Carter touched down during an 11-minute period during which the hosts scored 20 points.
It was clinical finishing by the All Blacks, who scored some classy tries, making the defence look amateurish, with Maa Nonu in particular enjoying running at Charlie Hodgson.
The late try by Ojo improved a score that perhaps threatened to get out of control at one stage, but the victory was there for the men in black, who controlled things from virtually ten minutes into the game after seeing off the English powerful onslaught.
“The boys agree this was the most physical game of the year so far,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw said. “It was a tough test. Parts of our game were good. We took some opportunities when we got them and overall we’re happy.”
The second test is at Christchurch next Saturday, where England will surely have to work hard on their defence if they want to keep out the pace and power of the New Zealand backs in particular.
Note:
All the tries from the game are included in this clip.
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Time:
06:44
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