adminNEW ZEALAND put in a fine second-half performance to beat England in the second Test in Dunedin and clinch the three-match series.
England deservedly led 10-6 at the break, wing Marland Yarde scoring the only try of a breathtaking half.But the All Blacks were a different side after the restart, Ben Smith, Julian Savea and Ma’a Nonu scoring tries in a 22-minute blitz.
Mike Brown and Chris Ashton scored late tries but they were mere consolations.
England, who narrowly lost last week’s first Test 20-15 and have only won twice in New Zealand, play the Crusaders in Christchurch on Tuesday before the final Test in Hamilton next Saturday.
Steve Hansen’s side have now won 16 Tests in a row and need only one more win to equal New Zealand’s record for most consecutive wins, set between 1965 and 1969.
The All Blacks’ last defeat was by England at Twickenham in December 2012, which was also the only time they have been beaten since winning the World Cup in 2011.
England showed five changes from the side beaten in Auckland, with Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell starting in the centres, Danny Care and Owen Farrell resuming their Six Nations half-back partnership and Tom Wood starting in the back-row.
And in an intriguing experiment Manu Tuilagi was shifted from outside-centre to the right wing, with Yarde switched to the opposite flank.
Farrell gave the tourists an early lead with a penalty before hooker Rob Webber was hauled down just short of the New Zealand try-line following a charge down and break by Joe Launchbury.
So often in the past England have been guilty of failing to convert territorial advantage against southern hemisphere nations and when New Zealand captain Richie McCaw launched a decisive counter-ruck it looked like the chance had gone.
However, England kept coming and when Yarde burst through a tackle by McCaw on the edge of a scrum the wing made no mistake, bouncing over for a deserved try.
New Zealand came roaring back, Nonu spinning through the England midfield and setting up an assault on the England line and Aaron Cruden knocking over the resulting penalty.
Twelvetrees made an incisive break only for Brown to pass forward to Webber before Cruden and Farrell exchanged missed penalty attempts.
During an open first 30 minutes both sides found plenty of holes in the opposition’s defence, while England’s poor kicking out of hand gave the hosts’ back three chances to run the ball back with interest. – BBC Sport
Online Reporter