New Zealand 16 – 15 England

Damien McKenzie's three second-half penalties dashed England's hopes of a first away win in New Zealand since 2003 as they lost 15-16 in the first Test match in Dunedin.

The All Blacks took an early lead through unconverted tries from Sebu Rees and Ardi Savea, before England struck back when Maro Itoje broke through from close range and was converted by Marcus Smith.

Fly-half Smith, who had missed the previous penalty, put England level at 10-10 with his boot in the first half and missed again after the restart but his pass found Emmanuel Paye-Waboso to put Steve Borthwick's side ahead.

MacKenzie restored New Zealand's lead with two penalties and survived a second-half error when the shot clock expired while the No. 10 was kicking at goal to secure a one-point win.

The story of the game

New Zealand, playing their first game under new coach Scott Robertson, showed their attacking will by attacking England's wings in the opening minutes, but were awarded the first penalty of the game after the visitors' strong set pieces.

But Smith failed to knock down a relatively easy effort from 40 metres out, and the home side's early pressure finally ended on 16 minutes. Taking advantage of the penalty advantage, New Zealand fly-half McKenzie sent a precise kick down the right wing, where Reese latched onto it before the winger raced over to finish.

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New Zealand took an early lead against England when Sebu Rees converted Damien McKenzie's corner.

England struggled after losing Joe Marler, replaced by debutant Finn Baxter, but Itohe went ahead five minutes later, before Sidcup-born, New Zealand-bred Chandler Cunningham-South slotted home from close range after the break.

But it wasn't long before the All Blacks went ahead again and, after a miscommunication between Ben Earl and George Firbank left England down to six or seven men, full-back Steven Perofetta latched on to No. 8 Savea who sprinted over for his second try.

But New Zealand conceded a penalty kick in the last play of the game, trying to get the ball in a reversal, and conceded an equaliser just before half-time. This time, Smith converted the penalty to equalise.

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Marcus Smith missed a straight kick to give England the lead against New Zealand.

The home side also had to make a change to their scrum-half when TJ Perenara suffered a knee injury late in the first half, with Finlay Christie replacing him, but Smith's attempted penalty went wide again and the interval was called just five minutes into the second half.

But the Harlequins No. 10 played a vital role in giving England the lead on 47 minutes, pulling the strings for Feyi-Waboso's goal. Tommy Freeman was initially tackled short, England swung the ball from right to left and Smith picked out the Exeter Chiefs winger with a bullet pass up the wing.

However, Smith once again missed a penalty to end the match disappointingly, and the lead was reduced to two points when MacKenzie converted his first penalty in three attempts in the 54th minute.

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Smith sent Emmanuel Pay-Waboso into the corner to give England the lead.

He added a second 11 minutes later, as England were fouled on their 22-yard defence, but the penalty took too long to convert, giving the visitors a chance with two minutes left that effectively sealed the win.

Despite all the caution, England failed to create a scoring opportunity and the All Blacks could breathe a sigh of relief when the referee called a foul with the clock showing red.

'Britain came very close to making history'

Sky Sports rugby union expert and former England international Will Greenwood:

“You could tell New Zealand were together for the first time. They had lost a few key players to retirement and the games in Japan. Their lineout was shaky, they couldn't start an attacking game and had to rely on kicks.

“On the other hand, I thought England were excellent at times. Their defence kept them in the game for long periods and they attacked New Zealand in the second half.

“The most frustrating thing about sports is that you can't replay the last 15 minutes. The best part is that you get another chance next week.

“They came very close to making history today.”

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Ahead of the first Test of the summer against New Zealand, England faced off with the iconic Haka!

Former New Zealand international Nick Evans tells Sky Sports:

“I applaud the England defence. Felix (Jones, England defence coach) has done a great job. Especially with the line speed and work after the tackle, New Zealand were having a lot of problems.

“The All Blacks continued to fight in the second half. The lineout gave way but the scrum was excellent. They didn't get the speed of the ball they wanted but they came away with a win and that will be really important heading into Eden Park next week.”

What they said

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Jamie George has praised England's attacking mentality after they almost beat New Zealand in the opening Test.

England captain Jamie George told Sky Sports:

“I'm really proud of the way we went out and attacked the game. There aren't many teams that come to New Zealand and do that. It shows the tremendous growth of this team.

“There are definitely some areas for improvement. Scrum was one, breakdown is probably another. We'll work honestly next week and make sure we're fully prepared for Eden Park.

“We wanted to make the people in the country very proud. I think we tried and did that. It was a very fine line.”

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Steve Borthwick likened the first Test match against New Zealand to a virtual arm wrestling match in the middle of the field as the visiting team narrowly lost.

New Zealand manager Scott Robertson told Sky Sports:

“We had a huge arm wrestling match, I know Steve Borthwick's team are really good. We didn't play our kicking game well, we pushed straight after half-time and the second half was just a struggle. But we got there.

“I keep thinking about what went wrong when I should be thinking about what went right, like the score. It's our sixth game of the year, our first game, and we're on a pretty steep learning curve.”

What are your future plans?

England now head to Auckland for the second and final Test of the series against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday, July 13. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Action from 7.30am BST (8am kick-off).

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