New Zealand's Dan Carter is tackled by England's Steve Borthwick during their clash at Twickenham © Getty Images

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New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter showed he was a mere mortal against England but by the fulltime whistle normal service had resumed for the All Blacks' record-breaking pointscorer.

Carter's personal haul of 14 points - four penalties and a sideline conversion of Jimmy Cowan's try - saw him eclipse Andrew Mehrtens' record of 967 points as the All Blacks beat England 19-6 at Twickenham. The 27-year-old took five fewer Tests (65) than Mehrtens to reach the mark, and by the end of the match Carter was well on the way to four figures as he sat on 980.

"It's a great feeling, I'm very proud. It's something I'll look back on at the end of my career more so and be very happy with it," he said. "To overtake a good mate like Mehrts is something I'm pretty happy with. Hopefully there's a few more points to be scored yet."

But there were a few speed wobbles getting there. Carter missed his first penalty attempt from in front, and kicked five from seven in all. Going into the Test he'd kicked 13 from 13 in Tokyo and Cardiff, before his one-match high tackle suspension. When he punted a ball dead from a penalty, trying to earn an attacking lineout, All Blacks fans were rubbing their eyes. But he was still a threat with ball in hand, and defended superbly, summed up by his try-saving tackle on England bench forward Tom Croft in the 73rd minute.

"We're used to perfection, aren't we? When he misses a couple of goals it's not perfection for him, so he'll be disappointed in that," said coach Graham Henry. "But he's a big defender and a critical man in the side. You can't expect to have a 10 out of 10 every week, 9.5 is not bad."

Carter acknowledged his indifferent form had taken the shine off his record-breaking feats. "It was pretty frustrating with ball in hand, things weren't gelling as well as we would have liked. Missing a couple of easy kicks is never much fun. But you take the good things with the bad and I was extremely happy with my defensive game tonight, not only myself but the team, we really got off the line well and that's what set us up."

Meanwhile, one of the All Blacks' best, fullback Mils Muliaina, celebrated another milestone as he joined Justin Marshall on 81 Test caps, behind only Sean Fitzpatrick's 92 on the New Zealand list.

A rejuvenated Muliaina said he was proud to move up the rankings in the history books as he eyes being the first New Zealander to 100 tests, with captain Richie McCaw two behind him. But the fullback was kicking himself for missing a first half try on the television match official's call when he slid into touch.

"Yeah a little bit gutted, I didn't quite back myself. I didn't think I was going to make it when I saw the other guys coming across. By the time I got going it was a bit late."

List of most appearances and leading pointscorers in All Blacks Test rugby:

Most Tests:
92 - Sean Fitzpatrick (1986-97)
81 - Mils Muliaina (2003-present)
81 - Justin Marshall (1995-2005)
79 - Richie McCaw (2001-present)
79 - Ian Jones (1989-99)
74 - Tana Umaga (1997-2005)
71 - Keven Mealamu (2002-present)
70 - Andrew Mehrtens (1995-2004)

Most Points:
Dan Carter - 980 (65 tests, 25 tries, 165 conversions, 173 penalties, 2 dropped goals)
Andrew Mehrtens - 967 (70 tests, 7 tries, 169 con, 188 pen, 10 dg)
Grant Fox - 645 (46 tests, 1 try, 118 con, 128 pen, 7 dg)
Carlos Spencer - 291 (35 tests, 14 tries, 49 con, 41 pen)
Doug Howlett - 245 (62 tests, 49 tries)
Christian Cullen - 236 (58 tests, 46 tries, 3 con)
Jeff Wilson - 234 (60 tests, 44 tries, 1 con, 3 pen, 1 dg)