England captain Jamie George stood by George Ford despite his two crucial misses leading to their agonising defeat to New Zealand and he refused to lay the blame on his team-mate.
In a nail-biting climax, with England behind and the clock ticking down, Ford’s penalty struck the post, followed by a scrum close to New Zealand’s line.
Despite being in perfect position for a drop goal in the game’s dying moments, Borthwick’s squad failed to set Ford up properly, resulting in an off-balance attempt that veered off course.
The presence of England’s 2003 legends at half-time, including drop goal icon Jonny Wilkinson, was a stark reminder of what could have been as England narrowly missed out on victory.
It was yet another close but no cigar moment for England, marking their third consecutive loss to the All Blacks after July’s defeats in New Zealand, much to the frustration of England’s rugby fans.
Ford, who had come on for Marcus Smith in the 62nd minute with England ahead 22-14 to close out the match, ultimately fell short.
George commented: “He hasn’t missed many in his career so we certainly can’t blame him for that. We actually did we had spoken about.
“We had spoken about being in that exact position, we walked through being in that exact position and we felt like we were in control of it. We kept attacking them and unfortunately George missed the kick.”
England confronted the haka with determination prior to the match, as George disclosed that he had discussed leading a response with Joe Marler before Marler’s abrupt departure from the online sphere.
Although prop Marler withdrew from camp on Monday and took no part, his haka-related controversy persisted throughout the week.
On the pitch, England bravely stared down New Zealand from the halfway line, yet ultimately it was England who faltered under pressure.
This marks their third consecutive Test defeat to the All Blacks, with only a slender 10-point difference across those encounters. Following previous losses of 16-5 in Dunedin and 24-17 in Auckland, this match was another missed opportunity for England, which undoubtedly stings.
Coach Steve Borthwick remarked: “There are a lot of experienced players on the pitch and they knew what we were trying to do. The team in those drop goal situations has been pretty successful.
“We weren’t today but it is the width of a post, the result goes one way or the other. That is the nature of Test rugby.”
Indeed, New Zealand recognised their narrow escape, acknowledging the tense moments of recent matches, with head coach Scott Robertson saying: “I don’t think George Ford has ever missed a drop kick in his life.”
At the close of the first half, England lagged at 14-12, conceding two tries but clinging to contention courtesy of Smith’s reliable kicking.
Signs emerged of England penetrating New Zealands defences, with Chandler Cunningham-South dishing out heavy tackles against the Kiwis and Ben Earl showing dynamic prowess off the back of the scrum.
Will Stuart had the All Black loose head Tamaiti Williams on toast, but scores from the slippery wing Mark Tele’a and full-back Will Jordan kept them ahead.
England’s aggressive defence unsettled the New Zealanders, with only two instances of exceptional finishing circumventing it.
Tele’a capitalised on a backhand offload, out of a two-man tackle, to outmanoeuvre Ellis Genge, while Jordan executed a cross-cut move with Beauden Barrett to dart through.
England seized the lead when Smith took a risk to intercept on England’s 22 and broke free. With Jordan closing in, the fly-half realised he couldn’t make it and passed it to George Furbank.
Furbank then fed Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, and the wing sprinted in, but Tele’a’s second, another extraordinary finish in the corner, and a Damian McKenzie penalty set up the climax.
Despite having centre Anton Lienert-Brown in the sin bin for the challenge that gave Ford the initial advantage, England had all the momentum, but it was another close call.