All Blacks crush Boks

New Zealand hammered world champions South Africa 19-0 to take a major step towards retaining the Tri-Nations title.

New Zealand are now five points clear of Australia, who have two games in hand, while South Africa are languishing at the bottom of the table with just one win from four games.

Tries from Conrad Smith, Dan Carter and Keven Mealamu set the All Blacks on their way to victory in Cape Town, as the Springboks failed to take any of their opportunities.

The Boks were also beaten on several occasions at the breakdown in a match which was highly entertaining and played at an exceptional pace, with All Blacks fly-half Carter having an uncharacteristically off day with the boot, missing five kicks at goal.

In the fourth wave of early attacks from New Zealand, the ball moved squarely to captain Richie McCaw, who put a grubber behind a flat defence and watched as Smith beat Butch James in a desperate sprint for the ball behind the try line. Carter was unable to convert.

Fluffed

By half-time the scoreline had not changed, and it seemed as if the game was going to be a low-scoring affair, especially when the hosts fluffed more chances early in the second half.

With the prospect of tries looking more distant with every missed opportunity, it was two penalties - both when Fourie du Preez was shoulder-charged by All Blacks Jimmy Cowan and Brad Thorn - which brought penalties that could have helped the Springbok cause.

But veteran full-back Percy Montgomery, who was having a dismal game, missed both chances.

South Africa had a let-off when Montgomery - who was later replaced - and JP Pietersen forced John Afoa out in the corner, with the TV replays confirming he had not scored a try.

Breathing space

But it was only a matter of time before Carter found a gap close to the line and danced his way through to score the second New Zealand try and give the visitors some breathing space.

A nightmare pass on his own line by Jean de Villiers into the hands of replacement hooker Mealamu gifted the All Blacks their third try.

That completed a miserable 100th appearance in a Springbok jersey for Montgomery and will inevitably raise questions about coach Peter de Villiers' handling of the team.