Stuart Lancaster praises England "character"

England head coach Stuart Lancaster has hailed his team's "character" after they pushed New Zealand to the limit for the second time in the space of a week.

New Zealand followed up their 20-15 win last week with a 28-27 triumph over England in Dunedin on Saturday, but despite the disappointment of the defeat, Lancaster was impressed with his side's performance against the world champions.

The 44-year-old told Sky Sports News: "We showed tremendous character, and I thought that we showed great class in the first half as well. We missed one or two opportunities and we had them under pressure, but in the third quarter, they were exceptional.

"You've got to take your hat off to them for the way that they came at us from that point. We perhaps contributed to it a little, but to come back into the game and get back to 28-27 was great character shown by the boys."

Victory for New Zealand has given them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.