The Last 5 Meetings Between England and the All Blacks ahead of Autumn Series clash

New Zealand are half-way through completing a tremendous 'Grand Slam' of the Home Nations this November, with triumphs already in the bag over Ireland and Scotland. The All Blacks bested Andy Farrell's men 26-13 in Chicago, thanks to three unanswered second half tries in the final 20 minutes at Soldier Field.

Scott Robertson's men followed this up with a hard-fought 25-17 win over Scotland up in Edinburgh, with Damian McKenzie's decisive 73rd minute try and subsequent penalty providing enough daylight to deny the Scots their first ever senior men's Test win over the All Blacks. England's Autumnal form began with a well-rounded 25-7 victory over the Wallabies with an end-to-end barn-burner following this last weekend. Steve Borthwick's side secured a 38-18 win over Fiji and extended their winning streak to nine in a row.

England and New Zealand have battled a total of 45 times with the All Blacks taking a considerable proportion of the overall triumphs. The Kiwis have won 36 of the last 45 meetings, whilst England have won eight fixtures, and the spoils have been shared just twice. In this article, we take a look back at the five most recent meetings between England and New Zealand, with a recent encounter bringing in only the second ever draw in their history.

England’s pursuit of a first home win over New Zealand in 12 years ended in heartbreak as Mark Tele’a’s 76th-minute try secured a narrow 24-22 victory for the visitors. The Twickenham crowd was left in agony as the hosts battled valiantly, before George Ford’s last-gasp drop-goal drifted painstakingly wide, adding yet another dramatic chapter to this storied rivalry.

The first half saw England initially on the back foot. Tele’a and Will Jordan’s early tries, combined with some precise kicking from Beauden Barrett, gave the All Blacks a slender advantage, though Marcus Smith kept England in touch with a series of penalties. The home side regained momentum early in the second half when Smith intercepted a pass from Cortez Ratima, sparking a flowing move that freed Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to score. England surged to a 22-14 lead, sending Twickenham into pandemonium.

Yet the All Blacks’ resilience proved decisive. Replacement Tele’a, brought back on after an injury to Barrett, finished a period of sustained pressure with a try in the corner, before Damian McKenzie calmly converted from the touchline. Despite England’s spirited defence and tireless work at the breakdown, New Zealand held firm in the closing stages. Ford’s late penalty and drop-goal attempts narrowly missed, leaving the hosts agonisingly short.

Twickenham had witnessed a contest full of drama and intensity. England’s players showed determination and skill, particularly in their aggressive contact work and set-piece displays, while the crowd celebrated every turnover, tackle, and successful raid. Yet the All Blacks’ poise in the final quarter underlined their experience and composure, ensuring they left London with a third successive win over England this year and the Hillary Shield in hand.

Steve Borthwick reflected on the narrow defeat with a mixture of pride and frustration, highlighting the challenge of turning tight encounters into victories. For England, the match was another demonstration that they can compete with the Southern Hemisphere giants—but also a reminder of how small margins separate triumph from heartbreak in Test rugby.

England came agonisingly close to breaking New Zealand’s 30-year unbeaten streak at Eden Park, only for Beauden Barrett’s inspired cameo to turn the game on its head and secure a 24-17 victory for the hosts. Steve Borthwick’s side had dominated the opening exchanges, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman crossing for tries expertly orchestrated by Marcus Smith, who was flawless from the kicking tee, erasing the frustrations of last week’s narrow defeat in Dunedin.

By half-time, England held a slender 14-13 lead, buoyed by precise chips from Smith and a commanding performance from their second row, Maro Itoje and George Martin. Feyi-Waboso’s early score showcased his power and timing, while Freeman’s finish highlighted England’s flair in the wider channels. For much of the first 60 minutes, England controlled territory and possession, putting New Zealand on the back foot and keeping them contained.

Yet the All Blacks’ response, sparked by Barrett’s introduction in the 57th minute, transformed the game. The New Zealand fly-half injected pace, vision, and guile, creating the platform for Mark Tele’a to score and ignite a late attacking surge. Damian McKenzie added a crucial penalty, while England’s overtime push to snatch a draw faltered when a line-out drive was penalised at the crucial moment.

England’s performance was marked by moments of brilliance—Smith’s kicking precision, defensive interventions, and incisive attacking plays, alongside tireless work from Itoje, Martin, and Feyi-Waboso—but gaps under pressure and moments of defensive softness, particularly against Ardie Savea and Tele’a, proved costly. Despite dominating territory and possession for long stretches, points remained elusive, and New Zealand’s late surge ensured the hosts retained their stronghold at Eden Park.

While the result was disappointing, England showed clear signs of progress, with attacking cohesion and defensive intensity suggesting that future encounters could be closely contested. For now, Eden Park remains an unconquered fortress, and England’s challenge to finally break the All Blacks’ long-standing record continues.

The opening Test of England’s 2024 tour to New Zealand delivered a titanic, nail-biting encounter, with the hosts narrowly edging past Steve Borthwick’s side 16-15 to kickstart Scott Robertson’s era as All Blacks head coach. England had flown out of the blocks in the second half, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s powerful finish in the corner giving the visitors a five-point advantage and sparking hopes of ending a 21-year wait for victory on New Zealand soil.

The first half had been a tense arm-wrestle. Sevu Reece and Ardie Savea traded early blows with Maro Itoje’s close-range try for England, converted by Marcus Smith, keeping the sides level at the interval. England looked set to capitalise after the break, but Damian McKenzie, recovering from two missed first-half conversions, struck two second-half penalties to swing the game back in New Zealand’s favour. A final penalty opportunity for McKenzie could have stretched the hosts’ lead further, but the shot clock ran out, leaving the result tantalisingly close.

England’s defence was impressive, limiting the All Blacks to just 16 points despite sustained pressure. Their blitz-style defensive system, developed under Felix Jones, repeatedly caused problems for New Zealand, while their attack showed glimpses of precision—especially the slick interplay that freed Feyi-Waboso for his decisive score. Yet it was Perofeta’s clever positioning at full-back and his deft delivery to Savea that ultimately proved the match-winning moment for the hosts.

The result marked a dramatic start to Robertson’s tenure, with a new captain in Scott Barrett and a fresh approach being trialled across the squad. For England, the narrow loss offered encouragement, demonstrating that with composure and precision, they could compete toe-to-toe with the reigning Southern Hemisphere heavyweights. The series would continue next week in Auckland, with revenge firmly on the agenda.

The last time the two titans of Test match rugby met, Twickenham Stadium reached a fever-pitch before infamously fizzling out at the final whistle. This match is best remembered for what took place in the final plays of the match, as England battled back from a significant deficit to be on level terms.

The All Blacks flew out of the gate, as they scored two tries within 10 minutes. Dalton Papali'i and Codie Taylor were over to stun the Twickenham crowd, as Jordie Barrett nailed the subsequent conversions. Reiko Ioane's try stretched New Zealand further in front after 50 minutes, before England forged a fantastic comeback with tries in the 72nd (Will Stuart) and 74th minutes (Freddie Steward).

England prop Will Stuart's 79th minute try sent Twickenham into a frenzy, before Marcus Smith nailed the following conversion to bring the score-line back up to 25-25. The match was set to be decided by one last roll of the dice, with the All Blacks kicking off for the final play of the game. England had possession and were making some solid field position, before Smith then decided that the side had battled well for a draw, and sent the ball sailing into touch to bring the game to a close.

Not the climatic ending that the Twickenham faithful had worked themselves up for, as a series of nail-biting phases would have been a sufficient end to the match regardless of any additional points. However, the Harlequin decided that enough was enough, and ensured that England and the All Blacks shared the draw for only the second time in their history.

One of the most memorable wins of the Eddie Jones reign, England achieved an incredible victory over the All Blacks to put them through to the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final. The match was one of the most complete England performances in recent memory, as the side battled valiantly for the full 80 minutes, to record a solid triumph against the back-to-back world champions.

The image of Owen Farrell smirking as TJ Perenara commands the haka, has embedded itself into the folklore of this storied rivalry, as England formed a 'V' formation and Joe Marler was eventually fined for overstepping the halfway line. The fierce tempo of the match was kick-started from the get-go, as England centre Manu Tuilagi ignited the fixture with his second minute try.

The Nissan Stadium came unglued as the travelling England fans could not believe their eyes, with their side immensely fired up as evidenced in their immortalised response to the haka. The momentum was maintained throughout the semi-final, with the astute place kicking of George Ford keeping the score-board ticking over with four well taken penalties.

The All Blacks responded with a second half try from Ardie Savea, and Richie Mo'unga nailed the conversion to round up the seven points. However, despite the best efforts of the back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions, England had all the answers defensivly, yet it could be argued that the had reached their emotional peak to book a place in the final.

Eddie Jones' men would go on to lose the Rugby World Cup Final following a contrastingly sub-par performance against the Springboks, as South Africa claimed their first of two consecutive Web Ellis trophies.