Two incredible tries in the space of two minutes as All Blacks and England come out swinging

Steve Borthwick’s England are looking to set the stage for what has the potential to be a historic sporting weekend for English sport as they tackle the All Blacks in Auckland today.

Staring down the gauntlet of a 48-match unbeaten run that dates back to 1994 at Eden Park, Borthwick’s side have it all to do.

As England chase history, Scott Robertson’s All Blacks will know that despite downing their northern hemisphere rivals 16 – 15 in the first test, it was a far from comprehensive win. Taking several learnings from this fixture, Robertson’s side will feel that perhaps they had more scope for improvement than England, given it was their first test under his stewardship.

Now 28 minutes into the match at the time of writing, the two sides have picked up where they left off last weekend as they have torn into one another.

Set Piece Dominance

Dominating the scrum, New Zealand have once again gained several strong positions from which to attack. At line-out time, the action has been more hotly contested, with both sides causing each other issues at various points.

Securing a free kick from a line-out inside the English twenty-two, the All Blacks set up the first try of the contest. Opting for a tap to start the play, Codie Taylor quickly popped the ball to Ardie Savea, who got the legs pumping as he charged into the English defence ferociously.

Now firmly on the front foot, the All Blacks sent the ball wide to Mark Telea who showed exceptional spacial awareness to stay in field for the first try of the contest.

Exceptional Vision

Now seemingly in the ascendancy, the All Blacks were somewhat lackadaisical as they received the kick-off.

Showing some class of their own, England, through Marcus Smith, caught their hosts napping as he placed a pinpoint kick in behind the All Black’s defensive line.

Sitting up perfectly, the kick was welcomingly received by an onrushing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

From here, the Exeter Chiefs flyer showed a clean pair of heels as he left Telea and Damian McKenzie clutching at ghosts as he raced away for the try.