England were hoping to accelerate in the second half with a bench full of six British and Irish Lions. Instead, the nitro boost they needed came from those already in the field and some indiscipline from the New Zealanders.
New Zealand hooker Taylor’s cynical play of the ball on the ground, taking it out of Smith’s reach in the first minute of the second half, gave England the impetus to attack.
With one more man, England advanced up the pitch, scrum-half Alex Mitchell fired and Underhill advanced in the final meter. Ford’s conversion continued England’s run, leaving them with an 18-12 lead.
Fin Baxter and Joe Heyes, the props chosen to start ahead of Ellis Genge and Will Stuart, outplayed their opponents to earn a penalty.
Ford then ran under the posts in the final minute of England’s power play, only for the score to be nullified by a marginal offside call from Roebuck.
But England did not have to wait long.
Four minutes later, a pre-planned move worked perfectly. With a quick lineout ball, Lawrence looked set to make contact.
Instead, as the New Zealand defense braced for impact, he deftly slid the ball towards Dingwall for a run in for his second Test try.
With England leading 25-12, Genge, Stuart, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock came off the bench.
England initially faltered upon their arrival, with Jordan outscoring and New Zealand closing to within six points.
But his energy and quality came through and the team regained its composure.
Ford, excellent throughout, kicked a penalty to leave England nine points clear, while Pollock collected a loose ball before Damian McKenzie and Roebuck picked it up and slid over.
England will play Argentina next weekend, looking for an 11th straight win, a clean sweep in the autumn and a 2025 in which their only defeat came in their first match against Ireland in February.
