Distraught England captain Martin Corry admitted his side were "absolutely devastated" after their 23-19 defeat to New Zealand at Twickenham. "We are England, we are at home and we expect to win all the time," he said.
"We got ourselves in a winning position but we couldn't quite close it out. That final score just eluded us.
"I do feel we are moving forward but the great thing is everyone is absolutely devastated. We have lost a game and it should hurt like hell."
England coach Andy Robinson said he was proud of the way his side played, despite failing to convert possession into points.
"We made a couple of errors inside our own half in the 20 minutes before half-time that cost us and allowed New Zealand back into the game," he said.
"But overall our defensive effort was huge. We said we had to knock them to the floor and get in their faces and we did that.
"I am very proud of the team and the leadership of Martin Corry. Matt Dawson and Pat Sanderson played with tremendous courage and the collective effort was huge.
"I thought Sanderson and Steve Borthwick really came to the fore. Those two players coming into the team have done tremendously well."
MMIX
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