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Barrett sparks fightback as All Blacks beat England 24-17 at Eden Park

Barrett sparks fightback as All Blacks beat England 24-17 at Eden Park
Source: 1News

Replacement Beauden Barrett inspired a New Zealand fightback in their 24-17 win over England to claim the series 2-0 at Eden Park.

The All Blacks trailed by four points before two-time world player of the year Barrett was introduced off the bench to set up Mark Tele'a's second try and break English resistance.

England had threatened to become the first side to win at Eden Park in 30 years after excellent tries by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman handed them a slender 14-13 advantage at half-time.

In a frenetic game littered by handling errors on the greasy Auckland surface, the All Blacks struggled to wrestle back momentum and Marcus Smith stretched England's lead with a penalty before Barrett's arrival from the bench.

The full-back cut a composed figure to steady the New Zealand ship as he first ran an excellent line against England's scramble defence to feed Tele'a - who had opened his account in the first half with a smart poach from the breakdown - before holding up Jamie George over the whitewash in the final play.

Victory for the All Blacks maintains their formidable record at Eden Park and hands them a series win to kickstart Scott Robertson's era as head coach.

In other tests, Australia beat Wales 36-28, Ireland edged world champion South Africa 25-24 while Georgia beat Japan 25-23.

 Source: BBC Sports

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