England draw with All Blacks
England scored 19 points in 10 minutes to draw 25-25 with New Zealand in their third Autumn Nations Series Test.
Down 25-6 with 10 minutes to play, tries from Will Stuart (2) and Freddie Stewart, as well as four points from the boot of Marcus Smith levelled the affair at Twickenham.
New Zealand started quickly as flanker Dalton Papali'i intercepted a Jack van Poortvliet pass from an England lineout four minutes into the match, cantering in unopposed from 40 metres, as Jordie Barrett's extras made it 7-0. Hooker Cody Taylor bagged the visitors' second off the back of a rolling maul six minutes later, and Barrett's conversion doubled their lead.
Making his 100th England appearance, Farrell successfully slotted an easy penalty as the opening quarter passed, cutting the deficit to 11 points. England had previously led at half time in each of their last three encounters against the kiwis, but just before referee Mathieu Raynal blew for the break, Barrett booted a simple three-pointer to make it 17-3.
The stats highlighted just how dominant Ian Foster's men were, as they made more metres (123), clean breaks (5), offloads (6), whilst beating more defenders (12), and boasting more possession and territory.
Marcus Smith nudged a straightforward penalty one minute into the resumption, and Eddie Jones' men began to grow into the Test from the restart. Working their way down the field with positive carries, a late lifting pass to Manu Tuilagi saw the centre bulldoze his way to the line, where England set up camp. Carry after carry was thwarted by stubborn kiwi defence though, as England came away with no points despite Herculean effort.
The All Blacks showed their flair on the 50-minute mark - Beauden Barrett executing a well-weighted cross-field kick into the path of Caleb Clarke. Taking the ball in his stride he dropped a pass to Rieko Ioane on a switch line, and the centre sprinted in to extend New Zealand's lead to 16 points.
England showed glimpses of promise in attack through Jonny May and Sam Simmonds, but on both occasions the momentum was drained by combative All Blacks at the breakdown. Beauden Barrett slotted a drop goal moments before he was shown a yellow card - with ten minutes left in the match - for an infringement at the base of a ruck on New Zealand's try line - and replacement prop Will Stuart surged over from the same ruck to score his first Test try, making it 25-11.
England took advantage of the extra man, as replacement Dave Ribbans opened up the All Black defence before handing a silky offload to Farrell, who launched a pass to Freddie Steward. The Leicester Tigers man went deep into New Zealand territory, before a succession of quick carries had the visitors on the back foot. The ball was recycled and spread to the right flank where Steward barrelled over - making it 25-18 - and a glimmer of hope echoed around Twickenham.
With seconds left on the clock, and England having worked their way back down to the kiwi try line, Stuart crashed over from close range for his second Test try, and Smith's extras levelled the match at 25-all.
Reaction
Kyle Sinckler: "From a team perspective from where we were, down 19 points, to then come back and draw the game and nearly win is testament to this team and this squad.
"International rugby is all about results, and the here and now, and I just think it is really promising for the team when our backs were against the wall, and after not a great first half, to come back and get the draw against a world class side in New Zealand."
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jack Nowell, 13. Manu Tuilagi, 12. Owen Farrell (C), 11. Jonny May, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Sam Simmonds, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola.
Finishers
16. Jamie George, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Will Stuart, 19. David Ribbans, 20. Jack Willis, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Guy Porter, 23. Henry Slade.
New Zealand
15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Mark Talea, 13. Kieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 10. Richie Mo'unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Samuel Whitelock (C), 6. Scott Barrett, 7. Dalton Papali'i, 8. Ardie Savea.
Replacements
16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. George Bower, 18. Nepo Laulala, 19. Shannon Frizell, 20. Hoskins Sotutu, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. David Havili, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown.
Fixtures & Results
England 25 - 25 New Zealand
England vs South Africa - Saturday 26 November
