Dunedin, Melbourne: The All Blacks pulled off a remarkable second half turnaround to down England 28-27 in the second Test in Dunedin on Saturday and wrap up the series with a game to spare.
The one-point margin was not a clear indication of the difference between the two teams after the All Blacks had raced to a 28-13 lead before letting England in for two late tries. After a woeful first half by the New Zealand team, in which they trailed 6-10 by half time, they shifted up several gears in the second session.
They needed a colossal improvement after their untidy first Test win and when it came England had no answer.
The All Blacks took control up front for the first time in the series and their confidence visibly grew as they ran in three tries before England’s late response.
Ben Smith was the All Blacks’ “everywhere man”. In the first half when everything was going wrong he was always a danger and in the second half he scored the first try and featured in the other two.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said his half-time message was straight to the point.
“There wasn’t a lot of carry-on. It was nice and calm,” he said.
“It was about believing in what we were doing and eventually, if we stuck with it, it would come right. And it did.”
However, England coach Stuart Lancaster was dejected to see the game slip away after the tourists’ convincing start.
“In the third quarter, New Zealand played some exceptional rugby. Their best stuff — turnover ball and a couple of loose kicks that put us under pressure,” he said.
“But ultimately we’re disappointed that we’ve come away with nothing after we worked so hard to put ourselves in a position [to win] after the first half.”
The close-marking England side had the game in the palm of their hand in the first 40 minutes, and bolstered by the arrival of their senior cavalry, they forced the world champions into another stumbling performance.
The game took on a familiar feel as the All Blacks attempted to attack, turned the ball over and England kicked them deep into defensive territory.
Two penalties secured the Wallabies a dour 6-0 win over France to claim their three-Test series in Melbourne on Saturday.
Bernard Foley and Nic White landed the points in a grimly-fought second half after it finished 0-0 at half-time.
The match reached no great heights as Australia played for field position with kicks in the second half to capitalise on French ill-discipline to claim victory.
But it was a much more committed effort from France, who made 10 changes after losing the opening Test 50-23 in Brisbane last weekend.
Dreadful handling cost Les Bleus their chance of winning their first match in Australia in 24 years as they frittered away the limited possession they had in an ugly second half.
The French had never failedse to score against Australia in a Test.
France had the better chances in a scoreless opening 40 minutes and Wallabies’ fly-half Foley beat full back Brice Dulin to ground the ball in a chase after a kick in the opening minutes as the French went on the offensive from the kick-off.
Dulin missed a penalty attempt from halfway after James Horwill was penalised in a ruck.
