All Blacks off to a flyer

Springboks no match for reigning champions

Last updated: 9th July 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

All Blacks off to a flyer

Carter: 14 points

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New Zealand got their Tri-Nations campaign off to a perfect start with a 19-8 victory over South Africa in Wellington.

A second-half try from number eight Jerome Kaino proved key for the All Blacks, while 14 points from the boot of Dan Carter helped maintain the advantage against a gritty Springbok side.

New Zealand led early on but were pegged back before the break when winger Bryan Habana crashed over in the left corner to give the visitors hope.

But the Kiwi forwards were dominant in the second half with a fourth penalty from Carter sealing the points 10 minutes from the final whistle.

"This was a very important match for us," said Rodney So'oialo, who replaced Richie McCaw as New Zealand's number seven and captain. "We worked very hard for this all week and we got the result we wanted.

"The first 15 minutes of the second half were crucial. They were hard to crack but we managed to get on top and to stay there."

In a game played at high tempo despite steady rain falling throughout, the South African forwards produced a huge defensive effort but were ultimately unable to contain the rampaging All Blacks.

Carter traded an early penalty with opposite number Butch James, who appeared intent on leaving his mark on the New Zealand stand-off, hitting him with some questionable hits early on.

The Kiwis were lucky not to lose Brad Thorn after he picked up John Smit and slammed him into the ground in retaliation for Smit's high tackle on Conrad Smith, but no cards were shown with James gratefully booting the resulting penalty.

Rare defensive errors

But it was Carter who had the opportunity to put his side in the ascendency, kicking them into a 9-3 lead inside the first half hour although he did waste one chance after Andrew Hore had been penalised for offside

However, rare defensive errors from the hosts allowed Jean de Villiers to slip through before offloading to Habana, who made the most of space down the left flank to slide over in the 35th minute against the run of play.

James missed the conversion and New Zealand were able to put daylight between themselves and the opposition soon after the break, Carter finding Kaino in the line after a swift move from the scrum to cross the whitewash - Carter adding the two points.

The number eight touched down again in the 57th minute after a Carter kick-through, but the referee deemed Kaino to be offside although video replays suggested the call was a marginal one.

Replacement Francois Steyn fired a speculative long-range drop-goal attempt which fell inches short, but Carter slotted a 71st minute penalty to take the game out of South Africa's reach.

The Kiwi forwards camped out in the Springbok 22 for much of the last 10 minutes to quell any thoughts of a late fightback and give the All Blacks a 30th successive Test win on home soil, and extended their opponents' record of not having won there since 1998.

The two teams meet again next Saturday in the second match of the Tri-Nations in Dunedin.

Comments (4)

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Bill Morton says...

The All Blacks are undoubtedly the best team in the world and have been for a number of years. After the debacle of the World Cup they can hold their heads high but, I hope, with humility as there are still question marks over dealing with real pressure. The match was played at a very high pace and the intensity from both sides was amazing, however the All Blacks found another gear and won well. Australia stuffed a French team on holiday and unless a miracle happens could get stuffed themselves. I believe the step-up required is beyond them and they will suffer.

Posted 10:59 8th July 2008

David Wood says...

If the spear tackle had been by Butch James,it would have been a red card.However as usual it's very cleverly smoothed over.

Posted 19:12 5th July 2008

Curtis Bradford says...

wow the all blacks were pretty inpressive. If they win next week id back them to win thier 4th consecutive tri nations title. Although ausstrallia looked prety good this morning in thier 40 - 10 win against france. The world champions may come bottom in my opinion and now the all blacks are back were they belong at the top of the world rankings as the best team in the world.

Posted 18:39 5th July 2008

Chas Johnston says...

A fantastic rugby game, SA was completely dominated by a young and inspiration All Black team playing without some of their best players. Great to see the world's best rugby team perform at such a fantastic pace in difficult conditions. This result proves that SA are only the default World Cup champions, the All blacks were denied at least one try due to a referee mistake so the score does not fully reflect the convincing style in which the All Blacks shut the green shirts down in both set pieces and at the break down. Well done to the Men in Black back at the top of world rugby in emphatic style.

Posted 14:53 5th July 2008
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