Share

All Blacks hold off England

London - New Zealand survived an England fightback to make it 13 wins out of 13 this year with a 30-22 victory at Twickenham on Saturday.

The world champions, for whom this win atoned for their shock 38-21 loss at Twickenham nearly a year ago, led by 14 points as early as the 17th minute.

But England recovered to lead 22-20 heading into the final quarter.

However, Julian Savea then scored his second try of the match -- the wing's 18th in 19th Tests -- and the All Blacks saw the game out to keep alive their hopes of a perfect calendar year heading into their final match of 2013 against Ireland in Dublin next weekend.

For 2015 World Cup hosts England, defeat meant they ended their November campaign on a losing note after wins over Australia and Argentina but there was plenty of encouragement for coach Stuart Lancaster in his side's performance against the self-styled "most dominant team in the history of the world".

An enthralling first half saw New Zealand race into a 17-3 lead but the All Blacks were just 20-16 ahead come half-time.

By then New Zealand star fly-half Dan Carter had gone off injured in his 100th Test.

It took New Zealand fewer than two minutes to score the first try of the match through Savea.

Ma'a Nonu's well-judged chip ahead set up a New Zealand line-out five metres from England's line.

All Blacks No.8 Kieran Read then twice did brilliantly to set up Savea's score. First he took a poor pass from McCaw that bounced in front of him and then delivered a superb inside ball to Savea that took out three covering England defenders.

Savea strolled over and, with international record points-scorer Carter kicking the conversion, New Zealand were 7-0 up.

Minutes later England were on the scoreboard when fly-half Owen Farrell kicked a 45-metre penalty.

In the 11th minute, England wing Ben Foden thought he'd scored a length-of-the-field intercept try but South African referee Craig Joubert brought play back for a penalty for offside by England captain Chris Robshaw and Carter made it 10-3 to New Zealand.

England were struggling to get their hands on the ball and the All Blacks' pressure produced a second try, this time for Read, in the 16th minute.

Lock Brodie Retallick's pass set prop Owen Franks off on a charging run.

From the ruck, scrum-half Aaron Smith released full-back Israel Dagg and his pass sent in Read. Carter converted and New Zealand led 17-3.

England did manage to establish some territorial control from the re-start through several close-range scrums before opting for a five-metre line-out after an All Blacks infringement.

After replays were inconclusive as to whether No 8 Billy Vunipola had got the ball down for a try, England struck from a five-metre scrum when lock Joe Launchbury crossed after Read's knock-on.

Farrell kicked the conversion and England were back in the match at 10-17 down. New Zealand then suffered a further setback when Carter limped off just 26 minutes into his landmark appearance .

Soon afterwards his replacement, Aaron Cruden, kicked a 40-metre penalty, awarded for offside, to extend New Zealand's lead to 20-10.

But New Zealand found themselves a man down when Read was sin-binned in the 33rd minute.

Farrell kicked the ensuing penalty and made it four kicks from four before the break after good work by the England pack at the scrum.

England moved to within a point, at 19-20, when, after replacement Wyatt Crockett's cynical block on wing Chris Ashton, Farrell kicked his fourth penalty in the 53rd minute.

And when McCaw infringed at a ruck, Farrell kicked England into a two-point lead.

But New Zealand hit back in the 64th minute after nicking possession at an England line-out.

Charles Piutau went close before being denied by full-back Mike Brown's last-ditch tackle but New Zealand, switching play, then saw Nonu's pass out of the tackle release man-of-the-match Savea for a well-taken try.

Cruden converted and then added a penalty to leave New Zealand two scores in front at 30-22 and there was no way back for England.

Teams:

England

15-Mike Brown, 14-Chris Ashton, 13-Joel Tomkins, 12-Billy Twelvetrees, 11-Ben Foden, 10-Owen Farrell, 9-Lee Dickson, 8-Billy Vunipola, 7-Chris Robshaw (captain), 6-Tom Wood, 5-Courtney Lawes, 4-Joe Launchbury, 3-Dan Cole, 2-Dylan Hartley, 1-Joe Marler.

Substitutes: 16-Tom Youngs, 17-Matt Mullan, 18-David Wilson, 19-Geoff Parling, 20-Ben Morgan, 21-Ben Youngs, 22-Toby Flood, 23-Alex Goode

New Zealand

15 Israel Dagg, 14 Charles Piutau, 13 Ben Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock

Substitutes: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Steven Luatua, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow,  22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ryan Crotty





We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1814 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1774 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1082 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 459 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 186 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE