Jamie George acknowledged that his team had missed a golden chance to defeat the All Blacks but maintained they would learn from their narrow loss at Twickenham. England's disappointed captain and head coach, Steve Borthwick, also supported a disheartened George Ford, encouraging him to recover from his crucial kicking misses and believing England will rebound stronger against Australia next week.
"We were in a position to win the game, and whenever you put yourselves in position to win and don't come away with it, you are disappointed," said George, suggesting Ford should not be held responsible for the outcome after failing to convert a late penalty and an even later drop goal. "He hasn't missed many in his career, so we certainly can't blame him for that."
Borthwick emphasized the thin line between victory and defeat after England's third consecutive close loss to the same opponents. "When you are in a position when you are winning by the margin we were at that time, there is clearly an opportunity to win the game. We gave them a window to get back and they did it."
New Zealand's head coach, Scott Robertson, expressed relief, joking: "I don't think George Ford has ever missed a drop kick in his life." His captain, Scott Barrett, however, suggested the All Blacks deserved the win because they had attacked more frequently than their opponents. "They are a dangerous team but we potentially played a bit more rugby than them. I was pleased with our endeavour."
All Black No 8 Ardie Savea also admitted he had expected Ford to slot the penalty. "I didn't think we had that in the end. We got lucky with the penalty kick, but rugby is a game of fine margins and we will take it. That game could've gone either way but I'm very proud of the boys for staying in it and defending the goal-line like that."
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