England claim Test victory over the All Blacks as Ford misses TWICE in two minutes

England were left to rue what might have happened after substitute playmaker George Ford missed the winning try against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Sunday (AEDT).

Trailing 24-22 after Mark Telea’s superb strike in the 75th minute, Ford missed a penalty from 40 meters with 100 seconds left when his spot-kick hit the post. But the experienced playmaker was given another opportunity when Patrick Tuipulotu, who had stormed onto the pitch in the second half, lost the ball in front of his posts.

After surviving another onslaught from the All Blacks at the scrum, Ford – usually a master in front of goal – eventually got the ball in the pocket but left his attempt to score wide of the goal.

Ofa Tuungafasi celebrates all the time as George Ford looks crestfallen after his latest miss against the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium on November 2, 2024 in London. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

A missed kick saw Scott Robertson’s side hang on for dear life, finding themselves on the brink after Marcus Smith opened up a 22-14 lead midway through the second half.

“We knew they had George Ford in their pocket and he’s probably one of the best people to have in your pocket at times like these and I think we just put enough pressure on him,” All Blacks captain Scott said Barrett.

“It could have gone either way. We knew any team could win. I’m glad I came away with a win, but we need to improve.”

The heartbreaking two-point defeat came after successive narrow defeats against the All Blacks in New Zealand in July.

“We’re close, we’re very close to being a good team, but we’ve been talking about it for a while now,” England captain Jamie George said.

“We need to do everything we can to take the next step and win these great games because we had one game against France in the Six Nations, two in New Zealand and another here. We don’t like to lose at home, but today we lost to a good team.

“We’re going to put our heads down and work really hard to become a much better team in Australia.”

The match changed when Steve Borthwick replaced Smith in the 62nd minute.

The England midfielder was flying at that point, kicking more than five penalties, including four in the first half, to keep them within reach at 14-12, before stunningly intercepting Cortes Ratima to spark Immanuel Fahey’s try the length of the field. Waboso.

But the moment Smith was substituted, England seemed to shut up and it eventually bit them in the backside when Robertson brought Damian McKenzie off the bench to add some energy.

After a frustrating 30 minutes after the break, which included an unauthorized try from Beauden Barrett after a deliberate hit, McKenzie kicked the penalty to reduce the margin to five points before releasing Tele and diving over the top of Ford. and ends up scoring wide of the goal. McKenzie’s touchline conversion put the visitors ahead.

“It’s really important for the group to just encourage us,” Robertson said. “We had a chance to win every game, but we didn’t.

“Just this year, to be brave, we wanted people to volunteer this week and put their hands up and continue to be brave until the end, and we did that, so all these things inspire us. Winning is important.”

Mark Telea scored twice in the All Blacks’ thrilling two-point win over England in London. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Rising back-rower Wallace City was named man of the match after a rather brilliant performance.

The free forward’s offload set up the first try as he sent an incredible ball over the wing to fellow striker Telea eight minutes later.

After Smith had reduced the margin to one point, Will Jordan’s fine line allowed the full-back to combine spectacularly with Beauden Barrett to split England through the middle and extend the lead to 14-6. It was Jordan’s 36th attempt.

Two more Smith penalties put England in contention at the break before they struck early in the second half.

Despite some wobbles in Asafo Aumua’s squad, the All Blacks did enough to leave London with a frustrating, albeit important, win as they prepare to face Ireland next weekend.