New Zealand 28 England 27: Five areas that England need to fix
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Your support makes all the difference.England lost their second Test in a row to New Zealand and with it saw the series disappear. Hugh Godwin picks out the areas that need addressing.
Lawes must start
By selecting Geoff Parling ahead of Courtney Lawes, England lost the Northampton man’s unique ability to harry the opposition midfield.
Twelvetrees raises doubts at No 12
Billy Twelvetrees is clearly Stuart Lancaster’s preferred second playmaker, but the Gloucester man’s first match for six weeks lacked the killer touch.
It’s the little things that count for a lot
England will regret so many small errors, for example Danny Care’s overdone line-kicks and fumble at a maul, plus kicks misjudged by Billy Twelvetrees and Marland Yarde.
You can’t win in the sin-bin
It’s a struggle against the world’s best, but England’s tough-nut defence cracked, with a yellow card for Marland Yarde in Auckland and one for Owen Farrell.
Finishing is everything
Five opportunities missed to score a try in Auckland, and two more at the either end of the first half, are painful statistics for England.
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