LONDON :New Zealand coach Scott Robertson rued his side’s lack of cutting edge as their Grand Slam hopes were dashed by England in a 33-19 defeat on Saturday, with a poor start to the second half costing the All Blacks dearly.
The visitors took an early 12-0 lead before conceding 25 unanswered points either side of halftime, with England taking advantage of Codie Taylor’s yellow card shortly after the restart.
A Will Jordan try with just over 15 minutes to play got New Zealand back within touching distance, but England closed out a deserved victory, their first over New Zealand since 2019.
Robertson was magnanimous in defeat, telling reporters that England “just finished a bit more than us”.
“I think we created a lot,” he added. “There’s so much good stuff that we did out there, we just didn’t take advantage of it.”
The loss ends New Zealand’s chance of a Grand Slam after victories over Ireland and Scotland and Robertson said the missed opportunity was a bitter blow.
“It hurts, you know, because we wanted to put our name on the history board like the others have done and make them all proud,” Robertson said.
Barrett had said before the game that New Zealand’s loss to England in the 2019 World Cup semi-final had left a “scar”, which England added to on Saturday.
“It is a goal we set out to achieve a few weeks ago and England sort of pulled the rug out from under us,” he said. “We’ll quickly put our focus towards Wales (next Saturday) and finishing strong.”
Much was made in the build-up of England’s improved ability to close out the last 20 minutes of games and the depth of their squad, in particular their so-called Pom Squad from the bench.
But it was the preceding 20 minutes that ultimately decided the contest as New Zealand conceded 14 points, their margin of defeat, between the 41st and 60th minutes.
Having conceded 17 points without scoring in that period against Scotland last Saturday, New Zealand’s record in the third quarter of their 12 tests in 2025 is now -64.
Asked if he knew the reason for New Zealand’s poor performances in the third quarter, Robertson replied with a rueful laugh: “No, because if I did that wouldn’t happen.”
He added: “We’ve tried a lot, training and to educate ourselves as much as we possibly can around what it takes to keep that momentum, keep pressure on teams.
“Obviously, it hasn’t happened. It’s a little bit frustrating because you put so much work into it. Definitely an area of growth.”
