“It’s been a long season for us dating back to the start of the World Cup,” said England skipper Jamie George.
“I think we’re a significantly better team than when we started and there’s hugely exciting times ahead for this English team.”
The first quarter was frenetic as both teams were running the ball from everywhere, but it was New Zealand who opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Tele’a picked up the ball at the back of a ruck and streaked to the line down the blindside.
England responded three minutes late when Smith hoisted a kick across to Feyi-Waboso and the winger wove between the last two defenders to touch down.
The All Blacks almost got in again in the 19th minute with an attack down the left flank but Smith raced back and managed to intercept the final pass to save the try.
England’s defence was again steely and New Zealand opted to hand the ball to McKenzie on their next two kickable penalties and led 13-7 until just before halftime.
Smith, playing under advantage, took the ball just outside the 22-metre line and lofted another perfect kick across to Tommy Freeman, who leapt above Tele’a to gather it and touch down.
Smith missed three kicks last week but nailed both conversions in the first half before extending England’s lead to 17-13 with a penalty nine minutes into the second half.
The 48,362 crowd was starting to get jittery as England continued to dominate territory and possession but All Blacks coach Scott Robertson had started emptying his bench and Beauden Barrett entered the contest.
Taking an early ball from McKenzie on the hour mark, the former world player of the year slashed through a gap in the defensive line before straightening up and releasing Tele’a to apply the finish to a fine try.
England thought they had rolled a maul over the line that would have given them a shot at levelling the scores in the dying seconds but the officials decided there had been obstruction before ruling on whether the ball had been grounded.