Blame it on...the referee

It was all referee Mathieu Raynal's fault.

That's if you believe former England prop Jeff Probyn.

A week after the All Blacks' 25-25 draw, Probyn, whose status as a former England prop is likely to be added to sooner rather than later as a result of New Zealand and South Africa's forward performances against England, said Raynal's refereeing attitude contributed to the 19-point turnaround that saw England snatch a draw at Twickenham.

In his weekly column in The Rugby Paper, 37-Test cap Probyn said the game was an example of a referee dictating the final result by awarding and disallowing tries that could have gone either way, but, in the end, gave England a draw they didn't deserve.

"Virtually every part of England's game failed to deliver as their scrum was taken apart and the inexperienced scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet was pressured into a number of errors including passing straight to New Zealand's Dalton Papali'i who ran in the first try after just four minutes.

"[Eddie] Jones' first-choice forwards were outplayed, and the scrum was exposed as both props failed to match their opponents, putting more pressure on van Poortvliet.

"Even when England managed to finally get back into the game, it wasn't really by their efforts, but rather the actions of the French referee Mathieu Raynal, who had been constantly booed for virtually every decision he made until he seemed to suddenly change direction, and give England the benefit of the doubt in the 50/50 decisions.

"I honestly can't every remember a Twickenham crowd being so vocal in attacking a referee's decision which could have influenced his sudden change of heart in the last 10 minutes."

Probyn took issues with Jones' post-game defence of his side's poor start by claiming he had never seen New Zealand play so well in the opening stages of a Test. That didn't square up, he said, with Jones' pre-game comments that England would take the game to the All Blacks with pace and power.

"That said, a draw is a draw which, even though the All Blacks haven't been at their best, was a step forward for the team as they prepare for the World Cup."

Elsewhere, The Rugby Paper looked at how teams were shaping heading into next year's World Cup. New Zealand had early problems but ended with a seven-match unbeaten run. However, the 19-point concession against England would have left their holiday win with an acidic taste.

"A tendency of New Zealand's teams through the generations is their ability to problem solve. Players are steeped in the game from an early age and have an instinctive understanding of it which has left them less reliant on scripts than others, but the current side looks as if it is coach led," it said.

While New Zealand suffered a decline after losing so many leading players after the 2015 World Cup win, they were the most successful side in Test rugby because of their capacity to replace and rebuild.

"The All Blacks are rugby's leading brand and the game cannot afford them to fall of their standards. They still have talented individuals, like Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett and Aaron Smith, while Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock continue to stoke the engine. The challenge now is not to keep players in New Zealand but give the production line an overhaul."