England’s George Ford missed two last-gasp shots on goal to allow New Zealand to claim a dramatic but scrappy 24-22 autumn rugby series opener at Twickenham.

Meanwhile, north of the border in Murrayfield, Scotland – led for the first time by Australian-born captain Sione Tuipulotu – beat a weak Fiji side 57-17.

At Twickenham, a brilliant solo try from wing Mark Tele’a, converted from the wing by Damian McKenzie, put New Zealand ahead by two points with 3 minutes remaining, trailing 22-14 with 15 minutes remaining .

But then Anton Lienert-Brown was fouled for a head-on tackle and Ford lined up a angled free kick from 40 yards with 2 minutes remaining.

It came back off the right post.

Still, the hosts got a scrum in the 22 with the sell-out crowd of 82,000 attacking England, but New Zealand broke the scrum and a rushed Ford drop goal attempt after the 80-minute hooter flew well wide.

The All Blacks have completed a hat-trick of wins against England this year, by a total of 10 points.

“I didn’t think we had it in the end. We were lucky with the penalty but rugby is a game of fine margins and we’ll take it,” All Blacks number eight Ardie Savea told TNT Sports.

“For us to stay in it and defend the goal line like that, I’m really proud of the lads. The England pack were bringing speed to the line and putting us in big shots. I’m glad we won.”

England were denied their first home win over the All Blacks since 2012 despite a perfect kick from the tee by Marcus Smith, who went six for six for 17 points but missed two drop goal attempts in the first half and turned down a three-plus chance early in the second.

The result was a setback to England’s hopes of improving in closing out tight matches. They have lost four Tests by seven or less this year and have a 4-5 win-loss record.

England will face the Wallabies at Twickenham, followed by South Africa and Japan.

Manager Steve Borthwick defended Smith’s replacement by Ford and said he lost by “the width of a post”.

“We didn’t get the win we wanted, but I think everyone can see that this team is developing into a very strong team,” Borthwick said.

“At the end of the day, that’s the breadth of the post. That’s the reality. It’s the breadth of the post that the outcome goes one way or the other.”

Joe Marler’s anti-haka comments dominated the build-up, but England’s idle prop came to the game and was seen having a pre-match laugh with All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.

Given all the talk, it was perhaps no surprise that there was a reaction from England and, with Swing Low roaring from the capacity crowd, hosts England advanced shoulder to shoulder to halfway, singing through to a roar of approval from the crowd. .

The All Blacks also advanced within spitting distance to answer the call and raise the bar.

Smith kicked the first points and New Zealand responded with the first try when Wallace Sititi’s offload with two defenders on him released Tele’a in the right corner.

New Zealand responded to another Smith penalty with their second try. Will Jordan picked off Beauden Barrett and ran 30 yards for his 36th try on 38th down.

New Zealand led 14-6 after 30 minutes, but while they created more chances, they also made more mistakes and allowed England to stay in touch.

The All Blacks conceded eight of their nine penalties in the first half, two in the scrum that has been so reliable in Rugby Championship, but they critically missed Ethan de Groot, who was not selected after breaching team rules .

Smith struck England twice from half-time and the game followed the script of July’s two close Tests in New Zealand.

Winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso highlighted the moments in the new half as he managed a try in every game against New Zealand this year, finishing off Smith’s interception on 22.

Smith’s fifth penalty gave England a 22-14 lead to start the final quarter and he was replaced by Ford, who was handed his first game in five weeks after a broken thigh, to lead England home.

McKenzie came on for Tele’a and scored his first shot on goal in the 67th. But Tele’a was already on again after Beauden Barrett needed a head injury check.

With the tension building, the All Blacks forced a kickable penalty with 5 minutes to go, but kicked it. Tele’a was at the end of a chain with the England defense covering but he shrugged off Ford and carried Harry Randall over the try line.

McKenzie’s equally remarkable conversion put New Zealand in front, but then her year-long discipline problems surfaced when Lienert-Brown was booked.

But Ford couldn’t capitalize on his chances.

“I’ll tell you, they haven’t missed many in his career, so we certainly can’t blame him for that,” captain Jamie George said.

Scotland ran into a Drua-dominated Fiji

Meanwhile, Darcy Graham’s four tries in his Test return to rugby led Scotland to a record 57-17 win over Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Graham’s four gave him 28 Test tries and equaled Scotland’s all-time record – for 10 minutes.

After Graham left the field in the 66th minute for a head injury check, fellow winger Duhan van der Merwe scored his 29th Test try to regain sole ownership of the national record he has held since July.

Graham was making his first appearance for Scotland in 13 months since the Rugby World Cup, where he scored his only previous four in a match against Romania. Injuries ruled him out for eight months until September.

“When you’re out that long, you start to wonder when it’s going to happen again, if it’s going to happen again,” Graham told TNT Sports. “You have doubts in your head, but I’m excited to be back.

“I joined (Van der Merwe on the try record) for 5 minutes. It’s good fun, good competition between me and Duhi. We’ll take it into the 30s I think.”

Graham scored twice in each half in a flip-flopping game that saw Scotland 26-0 up after 21 minutes.

When Fiji, reduced to 13 men at one stage, regained their full strength, they reduced the gap to 29-17 after 50 minutes.

But Scotland dominated the rest of the way, the eight-try victory eclipsing their previous biggest victory over Fiji, 54-17 in 2018, and maintaining their unbeaten home record against the Fijians.

The only blow was the loss of full-back Kyle Rowe to a hamstring injury, putting him in doubt for the visit of world champions South Africa next weekend. New Zealander Tom Jordan replaced Rowe and excelled on debut.

Scotland didn’t have to work hard in the first 20 minutes. As Fiji prop Frank Lomani then Apisalome Vata were in the sin bin, Scotland scored four tries in 12 minutes. Graham had two of them, after a one-two with hooker Ewan Ashman, then from scrum-half Adam Hastings’ cross.

When Fiji returned to 15 men and Ashman was in the sin bin, they hit back with back-to-back tries from fullback Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, wing Ratu Meli Derenalagi and captain Tevita Ikanivere from a smart lineout move.

But after center Huw Jones set up Graham for his third try in the 53rd, Fiji appeared to run out of steam.

The Pacific Nations Cup champions were a mostly dry side, minus the stars of the European backline, as the Test was outside the international window. It should be at its peak in Wales next weekend.

In the closing moments, Jones had an attempt cleared for a double move, but claimed his second of the game minutes later from another cross from Hastings, who had eight of nine shots on goal.

After the hooter, Van der Merwe looked to score his second of the game, but Jones made contact to cancel it out.

AP/ABC