England go down fighting
New Zealand overcame a gritty England performance and an indifferent display from Dan Carter to record a 19-6 victory at Twickenham.
Last Updated: 21/11/09 7:14pm
New Zealand overcame a gritty England performance and an indifferent display from Dan Carter to record a 19-6 victory at Twickenham.
The record-breaking fly-half missed two first-half penalties that would have given the All Blacks a comfortable lead but the 6-6 scoreline at the break reflected the home side's dominance up front.
However, Carter upped his game to kick two second-half penalties and converted Jimmy Cowan's decisive try as New Zealand pulled away for an ultimately convincing win.
It meant an eighth successive defeat for Martin Johnson's side against their Australasian rivals, but a certain amount of pride was restored after a difficult autumn series that should see Johnson remain in charge for the Six Nations.
England made a bright start with Ayoole Erinle making an early dash but were forced into a change when Joe Worsley limped from the field with an ankle problem after only two minutes, Tom Croft getting an swift elevation from the bench.
Carter surprisingly missed the first chance to put points on the board when he pushed a simple penalty wide after England were caught offside inside the first 10 minutes.
Ugo Monye successfully reached for the whitewash only to be called up for knocking in the tackle following an errant pass from Zac Guildford in front of his own posts.
Payne escapes
Jonny Wilkinson drew first blood in his head-to-head with Carter with the simplest of penalties on 16 minutes but the All Blacks hit back strongly and Mils Muliaina looked to have crossed in the corner, only for Monye and Mark Cueto to have dragged him into touch.
Carter levelled the scores in 25th minute - overtaking Andrew Mehrtens as the highest scoring All Black in history - after Tim Payne was lucky to escape with only a penalty against him for throwing punches, but England were value for the scoreline in a rousing effort at the breakdown.
More good work from the pack forced scrum-half Jimmy Cowan to infringe beneath his own posts, allowing Wilkinson another easy penalty.
Carter hit back four minutes later as the teams went into the break on level terms and the visitors looking frustrated as England finished the half in the ascendency, Dylan Hartley and James Haskell stretching the All Black defence on seperate runs.
Carter missed another kickable penalty attempt following another indiscretion by Payne but he made amends early in the second half to give the tourists a lead they would not relinquish.
The game was opening up and Matt Banahan made a break for the line before offloading to Wilkinson, but his pass was intercepted by Conrad Smith and the move came to nothing.
Cowan try
The Kiwis swiftly countered but with Muliaina in space the pass was judged to go forward and a frantic passage of play came to an end.
The All Blacks were under plenty of pressure but their response was immense, a skilful interchange bringing the only try of the game approaching the hour mark.
Having driven forward down the middle, wing Sivivatu weaved his way through before feeding to Richie McCaw, and his swift offload found Cowan on the overlap to cross unopposed in the left corner.
The score stunned England, and after Carter converted from an unlikely angle the hosts were up against it entering the final quarter of the match.
Banahan dropped a crossfield kick from Shane Geraghty as England's attack began to splutter, evoking memories of last weekend's pedestrian effort against Argentina.
New Zealand almost showed them how it was done, the lethal Muliaina racing free and feeding Smith who was bundled into touch by Paul Hodgson with the line beckoning.
As the All Blacks cranked up the pressure, England were penalised beneath the posts and Carter took the points.
Trailing 19-6, England were dead and buried but they were determined to go down fighting.
Croft broke free and set up a good position close to the line and Monye set off on a fine break, but the All Blacks' frantic defending ensured their line was not breached.