All Blacks claim Grand Slam

New Zealand claimed their second Home Nations Grand Slam in 100 years.

International Match, Murrayfield, Saturday November 26

New Zealand claimed only their second Grand Slam in 100 years after overcoming a spirited Scotland side 29-10 at Murrayfield.

The All Blacks ensured they made a clean sweep of the Home Nations with three first-half tries from Rico Gear (pictured), Nick Evans and Sione Lauaki.

And though the Scots put in a battling display and scored a well-deserved consolation try late on through Simon Webster, the result had been put beyond doubt by Gear's second touchdown in the second half.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry made 13 changes to the team that narrowly beat England last week but they still made an ominous start from the kick-off. The ball was delivered along the line to Joe Rokocoko on the left flank and his searing pace put them in a dangerous position before Tana Umaga's mis-directed pass ended the attack.

Scotland withstood a further onslaught before gaining territorial advantage via Hugo Southwell's kick. The home side took advantage of sloppy work from the Kiwis, who gifted a penalty away for hands in the ruck on six minutes and Chris Paterson kicked them into the lead on six minutes.

The Scots though were guilty of poor concentration as no-one claimed the restart allowing Angus MacDonald to gain possession for the Kiwis.

And it wasn't long before the All Blacks took the lead through a simple try by Gear. New Zealand were awarded a scrum five metres from the try-line and Piri Weepu put through a deft chip for Gear to touch down unopposed on the short side. Evans was just short with his conversion attempt from wide out.

The Scots were then left to rue what could have been following a poor restart for the All Blacks themselves. The hosts opted for a lineout instead of a penalty on the left flank and a rolling maul appeared to look good however referee Nigel Whitehouse was unsighted and the tv official also couldn't say whether or not the ball had been grounded.

A Paterson missed penalty kick proved crucial as New Zealand increased their lead on 18 minutes through Evans.

The Scots then failed to make a telling tackle as the All Blacks recycled the ball well and charged down the field before Evans was sent over untouched, this time his second attempt at goal was good for a 13-3 lead.

Scotland suffered a further blow following the score with Chris Cusiter coming off injured to be replaced by Mike Blair.

New Zealand started to impose themselves on the game and after a sustained spell of pressure Evans stroked home another penalty.

The All Blacks scored their third try of the match seven minutes before the break, somewhat dubiously, when Evans surged through before hitting a cross-field kick that eventually resulted in Lauaki diving over for his first All Blacks try.

The ball though had appeared to be touched forward in the air by lock James Ryan after he was fed the ball by Isaia Toeva, but the try was awarded and Evans hit the two extra points for a 22-3 half-time lead.

Both teams made changes at the break, Ma'a Nonu replacing Conrad Smith in the All Black midfield and Alastair Kellock coming on for Craig Hamilton in Scotland's second row.

New Zealand were hampered five minutes into the second period when McCaw limped off with his Canterbury team-mate Mose Tuiali'i entering the fray. Andrew Hore then came on for Anton Oliver as the visitors continued to make changes.

Scotland were undaunted by the deficit and roused the crowd after a brilliant counter-attack.

Southwell and Blair combined on their own goalline before releasing Lamont, who spotted an opening to surge down the field. Lamont didn't back himself though with the try-line beckoning and was eventually taken down by Umaga. The ball was reworked out to the left flank but Andy Henderson was bundled into touch.

Scotland continued to pressure and had the territorial advantage but were lacking the killer instinct as Paterson's cross-field kick was well defended by Rokocoko.

However having held their own for more than 30 minutes in the second half, New Zealand showed just how ruthless a side they are as Gear notched up his second touchdown. The All Blacks again showed their ability to off-load the ball in the tackle with replacement scrum-half Jimmy Cowan initially bursting through before working an opening for Gear to saunter over.

Leon MacDonald, who had replaced Evans, slotted over the conversion to make it 29-3 with only five minutes remaining.

Scotland managed to fend off another New Zealand attack before Southwell launched another blistering counter late-on.

And this time the Scots gained a much-deserved try when Phil Godman's grubber-kick was touched down by Simon Webster. Paterson kicked the conversion to lift the Scottish crowd before the official blew for full-time.

New Zealand never really clicked into top gear in the match but their clinical finishing ensured history for the travelling party as they completed the fabled quartet of victories over Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland.