All Blacks hold on to edge England

By Liam Napier

Scott Robertson’s era continues with the All Blacks pitching themselves as the great escape artists.

Two weeks in a row, the All Blacks fumbled and bumbled their lines before summoning a spark – this time in the form of Beauden Barrett – to snatch a comeback victory.

Their series sweep over a spirited English side is the first notable notch on Robertson’s belt but it was not achieved without fractures or multiple heart palpitations.

At the start of this tenure Robertson’s All Blacks, having banked two wins against Steve Borthwick’s tourists, will be afforded the benefit of the doubt. Two weeks is, after all, limited time to produce compelling cohesion.

Much more, though, will be demanded in the coming weeks. Comfort is clearly a long way off yet. The All Blacks will be better with time together but they need to be.

Midway through the second half, as Eden Park’s fortress walls seemingly crumbled before Robertson’s eyes, the plotlines were painted black.

The dawn of a new era threatened to transform into an eclipse as the All Blacks lineout faltered and England pressed forward to grasp control.

While England couldn’t land a killer blow the All Blacks looked decidedly vulnerable - just as they did in last week’s one-point escape in Dunedin.

Cue Barrett’s arrival with 29 minutes remaining. At that point the All Blacks were on the rack, trailing by four points.

Barrett and, to a lesser extent, Cortez Ratima’s injections sparked the All Blacks revival. Anton Lienert-Brown and replacement tighthead prop Fletcher Newell helped swing the result, too.

Barrett skied one kick out on the full but, otherwise, was flawless. His vision off the boot and telling surges into the line added speed and decisive decision-making. In a performance that turned back the clock to his rookie All Blacks years, Barrett proved a superb super sub – the difference between winning and losing.

Other than his kicking, Barrett set Mark Tele’a away down the left edge for his brace to regain the lead. And with time up, he held up England captain Jamie George over the line too before an obstruction call from the TMO.

Chiefs halfback Ratima, while not on Barrett’s level, brought similar speed to the base and crisp delivery in his 28-minute cameo to state his case for the starting jersey with an impressive debut.

Two lineout steals, in an area the All Blacks could not buy a trick on their own ball, from Patrick Tuipulotu and Ardie Savea and one scrum penalty also inspired an 11-point second-half swing.

England, with Maro Itoje leading the way in typical menacing fashion at the lineout, breakdown and restarts, and Ben Earl proving his worth again, deserve credit for throwing everything into another tense contest. They successfully pinned the All Blacks in their half for long periods and made extracting go forward extremely difficult.

At the end of their taxing season, England ran out of puff. The last quarter was again decisive as the All Blacks, through Barrett’s influence, adapted and adjusted to seize their limited chances and protect Eden Park’s 30-year unbeaten status.

England’s 21-year wait for success on New Zealand shores continues but, with two tries each in this torrid encounter and eight points splitting the two tests, little separated these old foes.

While the All Blacks scrum savoured complete dominance again, their shambolic lineout severely crippled any form of momentum.

The All Blacks lost three lineouts in the first half – and handed two more back to England through fumbles.

A week on from similar dysfunctions in Dunedin the All Blacks should have swiftly amended their connections. Instead, it was worse. On one occasion the uncertainty was so astray that Codie Taylor threw the ball straight to a stationary Maro Itoje’s hands.

Never had Sam Whitelock’s absence shone brighter.

Set piece in the modern game is a fundamental platform. For the All Blacks to regain their status as genuine world contenders, they must fix solve this muddled area.

On the counter-attack the All Blacks were lethal from the backfield with Damian McKenzie, Stephen Perofeta and Tele’a combining to spark slick, compelling breakouts but, as was the case last week, the final pass often missed its mark.

Tele’a cashed in on a powerful Savea charge to pounce down an unmarked short side for the opening try. Those moments were, however, rare with England largely dominating territory and possession.

In movements symptomatic of their lost chances, England midfielder Ollie Lawrence botched two opportunities to strike while under pressure in the tackle from Rieko Ioane.

England, though, enjoyed success in the air with two tries coming from Marcus Smith cross-field kicks to his wingers. First Immanuel Feyi-Waboso cut infield to wrong foot McKenzie on the edge. Tommy Freeman then produced a brilliant leap to snatch the ball from Tele’a’s grasp.

Pockets of white shirts were bouncing as England pinched a one-point halftime advantage.

Without Barrett’s match-turning injection, England may have rode that lead all the way home for a famous triumph.

Another week, another sigh of relief for Robertson’s budding All Blacks.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission