9 Jun 2014

England frustrated by narrow loss to ABs

4:19 pm on 9 June 2014

England rugby coach Stuart Lancaster says Saturday night's 20-15 loss to the All Blacks in Auckland was the most frustrating defeat of his career.

The under-strength tourists held level with the All Blacks on the scoreboard until the 78th minute of the match when Conrad Smith scored the game's only try with England down to 14 men at Eden Park.

Lancaster says his team created plenty of opportunities through line breaks and a strong set piece and were unfortunate not to score a try.

He says his team needs to bottle the frustration from the narrow loss and turn it into motivation going into the weekend's second Test in Dunedin.