'We’ll learn and we'll grow and we'll get better' - Jamie George after England's narrow defeat

England captain Jamie George expressed disappointment over his side's narrow defeat to New Zealand in the opening game of the two-game Test series in Dunedin on Saturday.

England were on course for their first win over the All Blacks in New Zealand soil since 2003 following tries from Maro Itoje and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso but tries from Sevu Reece and Ardie Savea followed by double penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie steered Scott Robertson's side to a 16-15 victory.

“First and foremost I’m very proud of this team. Not a lot of teams come to New Zealand and do that and that shows a huge amount of growth in this team,” George told Sky Sports.

“We wanted to make people back home very proud and I think we did that with our effort. It was very fine margins.

“There are definitely some areas to look at – scrum is one, breakdown is probably another.

“We’ll do a lot of honest work this week and make sure we go to Eden Park fully prepared. We’ll learn and we’ll grow and we’ll get better.

“We’ve got to learn fast, which is something we pride ourselves on. We’ll be as prepared as we possibly can be. There will be a few sore bodies.

“We have to get the bodies and the minds right because this is a really exciting week for us.”

The second and final Test of the series will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on 16th July.