Barrett cameo fires All Blacks to victory over England

:Beauden Barrett came off the bench to inspire the All Blacks to a 24-17 victory over England in an Auckland thriller on Saturday, denying the visitors a drought-breaking victory and locking up a 2-0 series win.

Barrett set up the second of winger Mark Tele'a's two tries in the 61st minute just as England, losers by a single point in the first test in Dunedin last week, threatened to end New Zealand's 30-year unbeaten run at Eden Park.

All Blacks flyhalf Damian McKenzie kicked a fourth penalty five minutes from time to extend the lead to seven points and the New Zealanders held the visitors out in the frantic final minutes.

"It was a proper test match and we expected nothing less from a classy side," said Barrett. "Oh mate, that's test footy, it comes down to the wire like that. So proud of the boys for showing some good belief and finishing it off there.

"(I) was just showing a bit of energy really, to give us some shape and structure and we did well to pull some strings off the back of that. But it was a hell of a test match."

England flyhalf Marcus Smith had set up tries for wingers Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman with crosskicks and added seven points from the kicking tee to take his team close to a first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2003.

It was the England pack, spearheaded by lock Maro Itoje, which had laid the foundation for a second world class performance in as many weeks with their immense physicality keeping the home side on the back foot for much of the night.

"It's been a long season for us dating back to the start of the World Cup," said England skipper Jamie George.

"I think we're a significantly better team than when we started and there's hugely exciting times ahead for this English