England are on the right track to getting back to their best, according to Lewis Moody after the All Blacks dished out another defeat to Martin Johnson’s men.

It has been an awful autumn for the 2003 world champions - yesterday’s loss following on from defeat against Australia and a less than convincing victory over Argentina.

But even though New Zealand always looked likely winners, flanker Moody insists England are heading in the right direction after an improved performance at Twickenham.

The hosts had said they intended to get into the faces of the All Blacks, who they felt had looked vulnerable to front-foot tackling during their four defeats this season, and they certainly began with an increased intensity from last week’s game against Argentina. England came out steaming in the first quarter. And even though that is the least you’d expect from the hosts at Twickenham Moody said: “I am proud of the boys but disappointed we lost.

New Zealand didn’t know what had hit them in the first 20 minutes. We stepped up today.

“(Coach) Jonno’s the heartbeat of this side and he gave a good talk before the game.

“I am gutted we didn’t win but we’ve got to just keep playing. The unforced errors crept into the game in the last 20 minutes and we’re not where we want to be but we’re getting there.”

Improved performance or not, there is no getting away from the fact that England’s ambitions are remarkably different from just a few years ago.

The All Blacks’ eighth successive win over England came courtesy of No.9 Jimmy Cowan’s 57th minute try.

The All Blacks lifted the pace in the second half on a treacherous surface which contributed to a series of unforced errors from both sides following heavy rain throughout the week.

Cowan’s try came after relentless recycling by New Zealand as they surged on to the attack, although the home supporters thought the final pass from captain Richie McCaw had gone forward.

The teams were tied 6-6 at half time with Dan Carter and Jonny Wilkinson kicking two penalties apiece.

But New Zealand gradually took charge and finished as worthy winners. Carter overtook Andrew Mehrtens as New Zealand’s top international points scorer before the break but also sent two relatively straightforward penalty attempts wide. And Carter said the victory was based on determined defence, and his side will be ready for the big test against France next week. ?

“We definitely pride ourselves on our defence that’s were our energy comes from,” Carter said.

“Our attack work we have to? hang on to the ball and need to work on building phases.

“The match against France is probably our biggest challenge, they are playing extremely well, it’s going to make or break our season.”

While the All Blacks did well it wasn’t a vintage performance from the star stand-off and Carter said that is something he’ll have to work on.

“Not too sure what’s happened to my kicking boots. It’s something I need to work on,” he added.

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