Replacement Beauden Barrett sparked a New Zealand comeback in their 24-17 victory over England, securing a 2-0 series win at Eden Park.
Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. The All Blacks were down by four points when Barrett, a two-time world player of the year, came off the bench. His performance set up Mark Tele'a's second try, overcoming the English defense.
England had threatened to become the first team to win at Eden Park in 30 years, thanks to impressive tries by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman, giving them a narrow lead at halftime.
Here, we examine four England players who fell short of their best at Eden Park.
#1. Freddie Steward
Planet Rugby 4/10: "It was tough for the full-back, who was playing his first match since early May, but he struggled. Was slow to turn and got caught too many times."
Rugby Pass 5/10: "Stepping in for the injured George Furbank, who played a blinder last week, so the pressure was on England’s former first-choice fullback. Despite being tested early on, which included a rare fumbled high ball, he settled into the game nicely, and got his hands on the ball in the wider channels and looked threatening both carrying and distributing. Struggled to work himself out of holes the All Blacks had forced him into at times in the second half."
Telegraph 6/10: "Caught in possession and spilled his first high ball but settled. Carried robustly and saved a try on the scramble. Beaten in the build-up to Telea’s second."
#2. Will Stuart
Planet Rugby 4/10: "It was another struggle in the scrum for the tighthead, although he was more influential elsewhere. However, the set-piece is his bread and butter and it needs to be rectified."
Telegraph 6/10: "Coughed up two set-piece penalties in the first quarter. Important work on the gain-line with deft footwork."
Rugby Pass 5/10: "Penalised twice at the scrum in the opening 20 minutes, but responded well and helped gain parity as the first half progressed, which is all England would have wanted after last week."
#4. Sam Underhill
Rugby Pass 5.5/10: "Huge shift trying to right the wrongs of last week by preventing New Zealand turnovers on the deck. It was a team effort, but spearheaded by the openside. Quiet elsewhere, but did the job Borthwick would have wanted from him before being replaced by Tom Curry after 50 minutes."
Planer Rugby 5/10: "Not as influential as last week and there were a few too many missed tackles."
#5. Ollie Lawrence
Planet Rugby 5/10: "Defensively, he did his job well but there were just a few too many errors in attack, including for the late disallowed try."
Rugby Pass 5.5/10: "Looked to test the All Blacks’ defence a lot by taking the ball as flat as conceivably possible. That did not always pay off, with two costly knock-ons in attacking positions (albeit the second one was a devilish pass from Ben Earl), but was also rewarded with some strong carries. Penalised for obstruction in the final play of the match, which was a bitter ending."