England's heartache goes on as Ford fails to land the killer blow

ENGLAND are still the nearly men as the dice fell for New Zealand in an Autumn series opener of the finest margins.

- NICK CAIN

England were denied the victory they craved twice in the last two minutes, with George Ford hitting the post with a penalty, and then slicing a drop-goal wide with the last kick of the match.

Yet, while this match had a pulsating crescendo of a finish, it was a plug-ugly scrap for most of the 80 minutes. The other discordant note was head coach Steve Borthwick's decision just after the hour to bring on the short of game-time Ford for Marcus Smith, who had kicked everything off the tee.

Even so, had Ford found the target, England would have been worth their one-point win for a battling display, especially in the loose, where they knocked the All Blacks out of their stride for long periods.

However, there was also no denying that New Zealand were again far better at finishing their oppor tunities, and it is this that underpinned their three wins over England in the last five months.

This time they outscored Steve Borthwick's side three tries to one with Mark Tele'a bagging two, and Will Jordan the other, to a sole Red Rose second-half riposte by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

They might also have had a fourth by Beauden Barrett if Caleb Clark had not been guilty of a deliberate knock-down.

New Zealand captain Scott Barrett said beforehand that it was England who "loaded the gun" with Joe Marler's prematch harangue rubbishing the haka, but when the phoney war ended and the match action started New Zealand did not exactly come out firing both barrels.