Will Stuart the unlikely hero as England earn a barely believable draw with New Zealand

Will Stuart the unlikely hero as England earn a barely believable draw with New Zealand

Will Stuart was England's hero with two late tries, either side of Freddie Steward crossing over, as New Zealand squandered a huge lead.

England scored three tries in the final eight minutes to fight back from 18 points down and earn a barely believable 25-25 draw against New Zealand on Saturday.

The All Blacks led by 14 points inside 10 minutes and extended that lead further in the second half, yet somehow they missed out on a seventh successive victory.

Beauden Barrett was yellow carded in the 71st minute and that proved a huge moment as replacement Will Stuart crossed over twice either side of Freddie Steward in a remarkable finale.

After England fans attempted to drown out the Haka, Dalton Papali'i got New Zealand off to a flyer as he intercepted Jack van Poortvliet's pass and ran in unchallenged.


Codie Taylor added a quickfire second try when bundling over from a lineout towards the corner, with Jordie Barrett successfully converting for a second time.

Owen Farrell, making his 100th appearance for England, and Marcus Smith registered a penalty apiece for England either side of three more points from the boot of Jordie Barrett.


But Caleb Clarke popped the ball to Rieko Ioane after a cross-kick caught England cold, and he ran three-quarters the length of the pitch to round off an impressive move.

A drop goal from Beauden Barrett put New Zealand 19 ahead, only to then get sin-binned for failing to release Marcus Smith.

Stuart drove over the line in the immediate aftermath and Steward did likewise two minutes later after being fed by Ben Youngs.

England looked like falling just short of a memorable comeback, but Stewart had other ideas as he powered over in the final seconds, allowing Smith to convert and level up.

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