England U23 Men draw with New Zealand
24th July 2015
New Zealand (2) 3
Brad Read – 5 (PC)
Sam Lane – 27 (PC)
Dylan Thomas – 55 (FG)
England (1) 3
David Goodfield – 10 (FG)
John Clee – 46 (FG)
Ed Horler – 50 (FG)
England Under-23 Men twice fought from behind to draw 3-3 with New Zealand in the Six Nations Tournament in Breda, The Netherlands, on Wednesday afternoon.
After a poor first half, England stepped up several gears and led with 20 minutes left, but a third goal from New Zealand ensured the match was drawn.
“A very poor first half performance got us off to a bad start,” said Head Coach Jon Bleby. “In the second half the mentality and quality of the team’s performance was much better and we created more than enough opportunities to win the game.
“Improving our penalty corer conversion rate and circle entry ruthlessness will be key goals working towards an exciting last pool game versus India.”
Brad Read put New Zealand into an early lead with a goal after five minutes from a penalty corner, only for David Goodfield to bring England back level on 10 minutes from open play.
Sam Lane put the Kiwis back in front on 27 minutes – again from a penalty corner - and they held that lead into the second half.
England pulled back level through John Clee on 46 minutes and another open play goal followed four minutes later from Ed Horler as England took the lead for the first time. But it only lasted five minutes, before Dylan Thomas scored for New Zealand to tie the match.
After a rest day on Thursday, England Under-23 Men will play India in their next match of the Six Nations Tournament on Friday at 4pm (GMT).