Chris Pennell made his England debut coming off the bench against New Zealand but couldn’t help prevent his side from being edged 20-15 at Eden Park.
The Warriors full-back came on with just a minute left on the clock to become the first Warriors back to represent England.
The All Blacks, who had won their last 31 Tests at Eden Park before the fixture, weren’t at their best in the first-half.
Freddie Burns and Aaron Cruden exchanged three penalties apiece as the teams went in at the break level at 9-9.
The sides exchanged two more penalties in the second-half before a very late Conrad Smith try stole victory for the world’s best side.
Burns got England off the mark with an early penalty in the third minute after Chris Robshaw found a gap in the All Blacks defence.
Referee Nigel Owens gave the penalty against Ma’a Nonu for holding on to the supporting James Haskell but it could, and perhaps should, have been a yellow card for the Kiwi centre.
Jonny May then deliberately knocked the ball back in his own 22 but referee Owens decided it had gone forward and New Zealand had their first bit of possession in the England 22.
From the resulting pressure the hosts won a penalty in front of the posts and Cruden slotted the easiest of kicks to level the scores after nine minutes.
England came so close to notching their first try with a piercing attack when Robshaw again found room in the New Zealand backline.
The England skipper offloaded to Kyle Eastmond who was brought down just short of the tryline before Burns crashed over, but play was brought back for an earlier knock on.
Manu Tuilagi beat Israel Dagg to Cory Jane’s chip over the tryline but the Leicester centre beat his runner by a whisker to get the touch and prevent the try.
Burns had another shot on goal when an All Black tackler was penalised for not rolling away and the new Leicester fly-half slotted a confident kick from wide on the left.
New Zealand certainly weren’t on top form with a series of knock-ons under the high ball and England looked to pile on the pressure.
Burns’ confidence went from stride to stride and the former Gloucester man, who opted for goal from 53 metres wide on the left, again hit the target with a sweetly-struck kick.
Burns wasn’t just impressing with the boot. The young stand-off was making big tackles but after an illegal use of the boot by Robshaw, Cruden was allowed to reduce the deficit back to three.
England’s pack worked tirelessly and won possession from the World Champions in the last seven minutes of the half.
The backs continued to search for an opening try with the powerhouse of Tuilagi time and time again needing more than one tackler to bring him down.
England were penalised just three minutes before the break as Cruden levelled things up with a textbook punt almost straight in front of the posts.
The visitors almost ended the half on a high with Tuilagi, Marland Yarde and Mike Brown linking up but they couldn’t find a route to the whitewash before Burns tried his luck with a wide drop-goal which drifted to the left of the upright.
Dagg and Nonu penetrated the English defence from their own half after the break but the visitors held firm.
Scrum-half Aaron Smith then spotted space down the left flank and chipped forward with Jerome Kaino bearing down but he couldn’t collect it and with a loose ball over the tryline, Ben Morgan came to England’s rescue to dive on it.
Morgan and then Eastmond went on powerful runs with the latter showing nifty footwork as England had the hosts on the backfoot.
May again darted down the right and after chasing down his kick, he came agonisingly short of the tryline before New Zealand were penalised for holding onto the Gloucester winger.
Burns stepped up to slot a fourth kick out of four from wide on the right to give England fans hope of a first victory in New Zealand since 2003.
But the lead didn’t last long with Yarde adjudged to have been offside and Cruden made it 12-12 with 13 minutes remaining.
Tuilagi steamed forward again as England looked to take the lead but a drop from Ben Youngs allowed Brodie Retallick to plough down field before Yarde hauled the big lock down.
But the England wing was sin-binned for not releasing and Cruden gave the All Blacks the lead for the first time in the match.
Danny Cipriani was introduced to the fray in place of the superb Burns for the final ten minutes as England chased victory with 14 men.
And Cipriani immediately made an impact with a scything run before England won a penalty due to an All Black joining the ruck at the side.
The Sale fly-half delivered under the pressure to make the scores 15-15 with six minutes to go.
Owens awarded New Zealand a penalty as England didn’t release the ball and a quick-tap penalty surprised the away side who just about recovered keep the ball inches short of the tryline.
But outside-centre Conrad Smith stole it with two minutes left on the clock, diving over in the right corner to break English hearts.
Pennell made a late introduction, throwing himself into the mix but New Zealand won possession and held on for the win.
Timeline:
3m: Burns pen 0-3
10m: Cruden pen 3-3
16m: Burns pen 3-6
21m: Burns pen 3-9
24m: Cruden pen 6-9
38m: Cruden pen 9-9
62m: Burns pen 9-12
67m: Cruden pen 12-12
70m: Cruden pen 15-12
74m: Cipriani pen 15-15
78m: C Smith try 20-15