England were left to rue what might have been after replacement playmaker George Ford missed a match-winning drop-goal attempt against the All Blacks at Twickenham in an action-packed, drama-filled final ten minutes.

Trailing 24-22 after Mark Tele’a’s superb finish in the 75th minute, Ford missed a penalty from 40 metres out with just 100 seconds left when his penalty struck the post. It came after Anton Lienert-Brown was sent to the sin bin for an off the ball tackle, which came after a high shot from the same player that was later spotted by the TMO and also drew a yellow card.

But the experienced playmaker would get another opportunity as lock Patrick Tuipulotu, who was thunderous after coming on in the second half, lost the ball in contact in front of his posts.

After surviving another All Blacks surge at the scrum, Ford – usually a master in front of goal – eventually got the ball in the pocket, but left his drop-goal attempt just wide.

Ofa Tu’ungafasi celebrates at full time as George Ford looks dejected following his late miss against the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium on November 02, 2024 in London. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The missed strike saw Scott Robertson’s side hang on by the skin of their teeth, having been pushed to the brink after Marcus Smith opened up a 22-14 lead midway through the second half despite scoring three tries to one.

“We knew they had George Ford in the pocket and he’s probably one of the best to have in the pocket in those moments, and I think we just put enough pressure on him there,” All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett said.

“It could have gone either way. We knew either team could have won it. Pleased to come away with the win but we’ve got to be better.”

The heartbreaking two-point defeat came after consecutive 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 saying that for a little while now,” England skipper Jamie George said.

“The emphasis for us has got to be on doing everything we can to take that next step to win those fine games because we’ve had one against France in the Six Nations, two in New Zealand and we’ve had another one here. We don’t like losing at home but we lost to a good team tonight.

“We’re going to get our heads down and work very hard to be a much better team come Australia.”

The match turned when Steve Borthwick replaced Smith after 62 minutes.

At that point the England fly-half was flying, having banged over five penalties, including four in the first half to keep them in range at 14-12, before stunningly intercepting Cortez Ratima and igniting a length of the field try to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

But the moment Smith was replaced it looked like England shut up shop and, ultimately, it bit them in the backside as Robertson injected Damian McKenzie off the bench to add some zip.

After a frustrating 30 minutes after half-time, which included a disallowed try to Beauden Barrett following a deliberate knock-on, McKenzie banged over a penalty to cut the margin to five points before freeing up Tele’a to barge over the top of Ford and eventually score out wide. McKenzie’s sideline conversion then gave the visitors the lead.

The All Blacks were also helped by a great push from the bench as Tuipulotu and replacement props Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Pasilio Tosi turned the heat on veteran Dan Cole and 22-year-old Fin Baxter, winning two crucial late penalties to set up their late surge.

“It’s critical for the group just to galvanise us,” Robertson said. “We’ve had a chance to win every game but we haven’t.

“Just this year to show courage, we wanted people to be volunteers this week, put their hands up, keep being brave right until the end and we were, so all those things galvanise us. Winning’s important.”

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

Robertson will likely have to make a couple of changes ahead of next week’s crunch 2023 quarter-final clash with Ireland in Dublin after Codie Taylor was forced off after just three minutes with concussion. It means Robertson will likely turn to George Bell, with the All Blacks XV also in Ireland after taking on Munster.

Beauden Barrett also missed the final ten minutes after being asked to complete a Head Injury Assessment, while Tupou Vaa’i also limped off early.Rising back-rower Wallace Sititi was awarded player of the match after a brilliant match that surely has the All Black favourite to take out World Rugby rookie of the year.

The loose-forward’s offload set up the opening try as he slipped an incredible ball out the side to his winger Tele’a after eight minutes.

After Smith reduced the margin to a point, a lovely line from Will Jordan saw the fullback combine spectacularly with Beauden Barrett to carve up England through the middle to extend the lead out to 14-6. It was Jordan’s 36th try.

Two more penalties from Smith put England firmly in the hunt at half-time, before they struck early in the second half.

Despite some Asafo Aumua lineout wobbles, the All Blacks did enough to leave London with an ugly, albeit important, win as they prepare to meet Ireland next weekend.