England and New Zealand are set to write the latest chapter of their storied rivalry this Saturday, when the two sides meet in Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium. Steve Borthwick’s men will take on the All Blacks for the first of a two match series, which will also be the first match in charge for New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson.
There is plenty of national pride on the line ahead of these two fixtures, with England and New Zealand amongst the oldest rivals in rugby union. The two nations first met on the pitch on December 2nd 1905, when the All Blacks embarked on their maiden tour of Europe and North America. New Zealand won the first meeting 15-0 (old method of points scoring), with four of the All Blacks’ five tries coming from wing Duncan McGregor.
Since then, England and New Zealand have battled an additional 42 times, with the All Blacks taking a considerable proportion of the overall triumphs. The Kiwis have won 33 of the last 43 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 the latest encounter bringing in only the second ever draw in their history.
1. England 25-25 New Zealand: 2022 Autumn Internationals
November 19th 2022, Twickenham Stadium, London
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.