The All Blacks have begun the Scott Robertson era with a come-from-behind 16-15 victory in Dunedin, a win by the narrowest of margins that contained controversy in the final moments.
Damian McKenzie had a chance to extend his side’s lead with three minutes remaining but took too long over his penalty and was “timed out”, a sanction rarely seen at the top level.
Regardless, the All Blacks pressured the resulting English scrum, only to cough up a penalty themselves, and they had to grimly hold on for the final minutes as the tourists attacked in the hope of a miracle.
The new All Blacks coach’s famous exuberance was not mirrored in this performance – which was stodgy and downright messy at times – but they did enough and he will be hugely relieved at the winning start which included the retention of the Hillary Shield.
Both teams scored two tries, the difference in the end was McKenzie’s kicking – he missed two difficult conversions for Sevu Reece and Ardie Savea’s first-half tries but was on target with his two penalties after the break.
England, in search of a first victory in New Zealand since 2003, will rue Marcus Smith’s poor performance with the boot. He missed a difficult conversion for Immanuel Fevi-Waboso’s second-half try in the left corner but missed two relatively easy penalties.
Assistant coach Jason Ryan warned during the week it wouldn’t be a perfect performance from the All Blacks and here it was writ large.
Possession mysteriously ended up on the England side of the breakdown, passes went forward, and in some cases not given when they should have been.
Perhaps most concerning of all was the home side’s attack.
Strike plays were difficult to discern and it appeared the All Blacks’ only idea was to send wide cut-out passes to wings Reece and Mark Tele’a, although having said that, the pair did get good mileage from it and indeed may have got more had Rieko Ioane passed to Tele’a in the first half rather than go it alone.
England midfielder Henry Slade shows his dejection at fulltime in Dunedin. (Source: Photosport)
Reece had the honour of scoring the first try of the new regime – from a kick-pass by McKenzie – but his side almost immediately gave up the advantage when Maro Itoje drove over from close range.
One of the most encouraging performances of the evening came from fullback Stephen Perofeta, assured at the back after being given his big opportunity ahead of the benched Beauden Barrett.
The Blues man invariably made the right decision on an evening when his side were a bit hit and miss in that regard, and his neat piece of evasion helped set up Savea’s try.
It should have given the All Blacks the halftime advantage but there was a sense they overplayed their hand near the break and a turnover penalty handed Marcus Smith a relatively easy penalty to tie it up.
The All Blacks gave up an early scrum penalty but from there on were the dominant set piece.
The other thing keeping them in the game was England’s determination to kick almost every bit of possession away.
The All Blacks dodged a bullet after the break when they were gave up a scrum penalty despite a dominant scrum, Georgia referee Nika Amashukeli deciding they were “not staying straight”. It was perhaps the easiest of all Smith’s penalties but he put it wide.
Fevi-Waboso went over on the left after as England finally converted on their territory, but from there the All Blacks stayed composed – albeit they lost three attacking lineouts – with McKenzie narrowing the gap with a penalty and putting his side ahead with 15 minutes remaining.
Robertson emptied the bench in the second half, with Finlay Christie replacing TJ Perenara at halftime due to Perenara’s knee injury – a nasty hyperextension at a breakdown, with Beauden Barrett performing well at the back after replacing Perofeta.
Reece continued his excellent first-half performance with a defensive masterclass after the break as the All Blacks pinned the English in their own half.
It wasn’t pretty but Razor will take it and he will expect significant improvements next Saturday at Eden Park, where the All Blacks haven’t lost since 1994.
All Blacks 16 (Sevu Reece, Ardie Savea tries; Damian McKenzie 2 pens)
England 15 (Maro Itoje, Immanuel Fevi-Waboso tries; Marcus Smith con, pen)
Halftime: 10-10
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