All Blacks hold on for 16-15 comeback win over England

New Zealand survived a late scare to hold on for a 16-15 comeback victory over England at Twickenham in their first matchup in four years yesterday.

England thought it secured a rare victory over the world champion when Sam Underhill touched down five minutes from fulltime, but video review revealed Courtney Lawes was offside when he made a chargedown to launch the move.

England made a dream start as Chris Ashton and co-captain Dylan Hartley scored tries either side of an Owen Farrell dropped goal for 15-0 after 24 minutes.

New Zealand struck back through fullback Damian McKenzie near halftime, then a crucial kickoff error from Farrell allowed the All Blacks to close the deficit to five points at the break.

Both sides had opportunities for more tries after in the second half but chances were repeatedly spurned in the spoiling rain. Beauden Barrett's dropped goal and penalty put the All Blacks ahead on the hour mark, setting up a dramatic finale.

After upsetting the Springboks by a point, an even better England performance gave Eddie Jones' side plenty of reason for optimism less than a year out from the Rugby World Cup in Japan.