England
George Furbank Bigged up by New Zealanders over the summer but found little room to make an impact until his key role in Feyi-Waboso’s try. 6/10
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso Offside penalty against but made some big tackles chasing kicks and wriggled out of a few tackles before taking his try well. 8
Henry Slade Called upon after only 55 minutes all season and kept receiving treatment in first half. Soldiered on and showed his worth with some key tackles. 7
Ollie Lawrence Made a staggering 22 tackles. Not many frills to this performance but a key cog in the machine and punched one or two holes himself. 8
Tommy Freeman Handling a bit shaky under the high ball early on but that improved. Not much of chance to show what he can do with the ball. 5
Marcus Smith Ballsy early kick to Feyi-Waboso. Roughed up by Kiwi forwards but came up with key intercept and goal-kicking was flawless. Classy performance. 8
Ben Spencer First start at 32 and looked nervous, caught out at one ruck on his own 22 and charged down. Settled thereafter but not the statement showing he’d have liked. 5
Ellis Genge Back from calf injury and gassed by Tele’a for first try. Embraced the blitz defence but beaten by Jordan too easily as well. 5
Jamie George (capt) Relished leading his troops to the halfway line to face the haka and his leadership was missed when he went off. 6
Will Stuart Endured a poor summer against New Zealand but was much better here, carrying well and showing up impressively at scrum time. 7
Maro Itoje Always tends to play well against the All Blacks produced some big moments as England seized ascendancy. They lost it on his watch as captain though. 7
George Martin Talked up by Scott Barrett and continues to grow into the role of England enforcer. Not there yet, but getting closer. 7
Chandler Cunningham-South Grew up in New Zealand and determined to make his mark. Made a huge tackle on Vaa’i which arguably swung the momentum in England’s favour. 7
Tom Curry Making his first England start for a year and set about things with his usual all-action approach. Important tackle on Jordan. 7
Ben Earl Made most metres for England in the first half, using his footwork to find space, but not hitting his Six Nations heights here. 6
Theo Dan (for George 53) Removed after head knock 6; Fin Baxter (for Genge 53) Struggled at scrum-time 5; Dan Cole (for Stuart 53) Couldn’t influence much 5; Ben Curry (for T Curry 60) 6; Harry Randall (for Spencer 63) Struggled with breakdown so messy 5; George Ford (for Smith 63) Agonising 5; Alex Dombrandt (for Cunningham-South 65) 5; Nick Isiekwe (for Lawrence 75) N/A
New Zealand
Will Jordan Ran a lovely line to breach England’s defence and continue prolific try-scoring record. Not as involved as he’d have liked but showed glimpses of class. 7/10
Mark Tele’a So slippery in the tackle but the opening try was all about his pace, burning past Genge on the right wing. Second finish was even better. 9
Rieko Ioane Off for some treatment for a nasty cut and struggled to impose himself, restricted instead to making hard yards up the middle. 6
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Jordie Barrett Back after a knee injury, early tackle off the ball gave penalty away and his decision-making wasn’t great. Let’s call it ring-rustiness. 6
Caleb Clarke It was his deliberate knock-on that denied the All Blacks a key try around the hour mark and he did little of note with the ball down the left. 6
Beauden Barrett Started out always looking to kick but when he started to vary things he found some joy. Not as explosive as he was but still a masterly operator. 8
Cortez Ratima Box-kick out on the full but switches of direction from rucks kept England honest. Was picked off by Smith – a pass that will give him nightmares. 6
Tamaiti Williams In the team because Ethan de Groot did not meet “internal standards” and New Zealand’s scrum suffered. De Groot likely to come back in. 6
Codie Taylor Led a spine-tingling haka before he was removed for a head injury assessment after five minutes and did not return. N/A
Tyrel Lomax Part of a dominant scrum against England over the summer but not so here. Gave penalty away shortly before half-time. 5
Scott Barrett (capt) Warned that Joe Marler’s haka comments had “loaded the gun” but it took his side a while to fire it. New Zealand’s top tackler never gave up. 7
Tupou Vaa’i Couldn’t quite gather Sititi’s pass – it was probably forward anyway – and couldn’t really get into the game. Replaced early in the first half. 6
Wallace Sititi Highly rated and showed why with a delightful offload to Tele’a for opening try before a few carving runs through the England defence. 9
Sam Cane Part of a dog fight with Angus Gardner so determined to allow for a contest at the breakdown. Resilient to the end. 7
Ardie Savea One early carry showed what a handful he is to put down. Came up with a rare chip over the top but England dealt with him well. 7
Asafo Aumua (for Taylor 5) Nearly cut Feyi-Waboso in half after early entry 7; Patrick Tuipulotu (for Vaa’i 42) Made much more of a dent 7; Cam Roigard (for Ratima 60) 6; Damian McKenzie (for Tele’a 63) Nerveless conversion 8; Ofa Tu’ungafasi (for Williams 64) More dynamic 7; Pasilio Tosi (for Lomax 64) Improved the All Blacks scrum 7; Anton Lienert-Brown (for J Barrett 65) Almost a costly yellow card 6
