OPINION: The All Blacks have blown 70 minutes of dominance at Twickenham, with ill-discipline proving costly in a disappointing draw against England.
New Zealand dominated the English pack, laying the platform for their electric backs to feast on open space created by the forwards, but despite all their good work up front and sheer brilliance out wide, penalties at crucial times - including Beauden Barrett's game-changing yellow card - proved their undoing.
While their bench came to the rescue against Scotland last week, this time, the replacements could do little to stop England's charge with a numerical advantage.
For all their brilliance for most of the test match, the All Blacks failed to close out what should have been one of their best wins of the year.
Up against a desperate English outfit and a referee whistling to every letter of the law, coach Ian Foster's men failed to adapt to the trying circumstances.
Here's how the All Blacks rated against England:
1-Ethan de Groot 6.5
Part of a strong All Blacks front row, forcing England to opt for the lineout over the scrum before even halftime. Was busy on defence and was one of the few players to escape the referee's whistle.
2-Codie Taylor 7
Showed great strength to force the ball down to score his side's second try, after an All Blacks lineout drive. Made all his 10 tackles and missed just one lineout.
3-Tyrel Lomax 7
Won a penalty off highly-rated opposite Ellis Genge, before conceding one of his own for England's first points off the kicking tee. Got the last laugh with a dominant shove to win the penalty.
4-Brodie Retallick 7.5
Looked illustrious in his 100th test match and put in almighty shift. Even stretched his legs with a surging run from his own tryline to get the All Blacks out of trouble.
Made an incredible 15 tackles, but was penalised a couple of times.
5-Sam Whitelock 7
Was integral to New Zealand's goal-line defence for the first 70 minutes and was part of a tight five that dominated the English pack. Made a team-high 16 tackles, alongside Ardie Savea.
6-Scott Barrett 7
Was involved in everything, and at the forefront of every All Blacks maul on attack and defence. Forced a turnover with a charge down. An impressive outing in the No.6 jersey.
7-Dalton Papali'i 7.5
Scored the game's opening try by intelligently reading England halfback Jack van Poortvliet's pass to intercept and race away. Was one of many players to find himself offside on occasion and was pinged at the breakdown a couple of times.
Made more metres than other All Blacks forward and completed all 13 tackles.
8-Ardie Savea 7
Looked to have sparked a third try for the All Blacks with a crunching tackle on van Poortvliet, before a Rieko Ioane penalty canceled it out. Won a trademark turnover with the hosts just a few metres out.
Wasn't as menacing with ball in hand as we've become accustomed to.
9-Aaron Smith 6.5
Was lively at the breakdown, sparking the attack with crisp passing and even linking with his outside backs in breaks on occasion. Almost put Jordie Barrett in, but put too much on the pass with the tryline begging.
10-Richie Mo'unga 6
Mostly managed the game well, but for a couple of missed touchfinders. Danced his way around the England defence in the middle of the field, beating a game-high eight defenders, but also turned the ball over three times.
11-Caleb Clarke 7
Looked dangerous in possession and troubled England in the air off attacking All Blacks kicks, but also coughed up a box-kick early in the second-half. Did well to link up with Ioane and send the winger away for a try.
Made a brilliant tackle to stop winger Johnny May.
12-Jordie Barrett 7.5
Attacked the gain line well, with his direct running setting up All Blacks players out wide. Almost scored a try but couldn't hold onto a rapid Smith ball. Looked after dangerous English centre Manu Tuilagi with relative ease. Kicked three of his four shots at goal.
13-Rieko Ioane 7
A couple of early errors, as a result of England's rush defence. Made a huge tackle on Johnny Hill with the visitors on attack.
Looked to have scored a try, but was penalised for a costly neck-roll in the lead-up. Wouldn't be denied a second time, with a sensational 70-metre run from a Beauden Barrett crossfield kick.
14-Mark Telea 7
Penalised for a high tackle on his opposite, but looked menacing every time he got the ball. Linked up well with Smith, as the All Blacks countered.
Capatalised on Clarke's tackle on May to get over the ball and win the turnover.
15-Beauden Barrett 6
Found Clarke with an expert kick, which saw Ioane race away from outside his own 22m for their first try in the second-half. Cooly slotted a drop goal, before being yellow-carded moments later for not releasing Marcus Smith, which ultimately proved costly, as England surged to steal an unlikely draw.
Reserves:
16-Samisoni Taukei'aho 6
Stopped a stampeding Billy Vunipola with a big tackle and was solid with his delivery at the lineout.
17-George Bower 5
18-Nepo Laulala 4.5
Missed a couple of tackles.
19-Shannon Frizell 5
20-Hoskins Sotutu 6
Looked to get involved with several tackles around the breakdown.
21-TJ Perenara 4
Gave the ball away needlessly with a kick over the top with less than two minutes remaining, which saw England rescue a late draw with a try before fulltime.
22-David Havili N/A
23-Anton Lienert-Brown 6
Was forced to do mostly defending, with England all over the All Blacks in the final minutes, but made all his tackles.
Reece Labuschagne is a Newshub digital sports producer
