The record will always show that New Zealand recorded another massive victory over Italy when they beat them by 64-10 -- with left-wing Caleb Ralph scoring three tries -- at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday. What the score doesn't tell you is that the All Blacks struggled against a valiant Azzurri side.
In fact, if it weren't for three late tries, the score would have looked decidedly different and would probably have been a better reflection of a rather scrappy game.
The All Blacks scored nine tries, of which six came after the break and three in the final eight minutes or so.
After a brilliant start by the All Blacks, Ralph combined well with Christian Cullen, who looks to be regaining his confidence after a shoddy Super 12, for the first try of the game.
Cullen looked dangerous when he got the ball in broken play or joined the line-out, and the All Blacks would have led by more than 24-3 at the break had all their passes to support players stuck.
The All Blacks looked solid at the line-outs, and after Italian skipper Marco Bortolami stole an early ball from the home team, the home team made sure that this set phase was by far their most productive.
The Azzurri scrummed well, and although they tired towards the end, the provided the All Blacks with enough problems in this department.
But the big difference between the two teams was at the back, where the Italians had to do most of the defending on a rainy night in Hamilton. When the visitors did get the ball in the attack, they looked dangerous, but that happened too seldom to really trouble the New Zealand defence.
On the other hand, Andrew Mehrtens, Daryl Gibson and Mark Robinson provided Ralph -- who over-ran a number of passes and knocked on a few times -- and Cullen with more than enough good attacking opportunity. It is therefor no surprise that the All Blacks' back three -- Jonah Lomu replaced Doug Howlett after the break -- scored more than half the home team's tries.
Mehrtens set a new world-record for conversions in Tests when he slotted his 141st two-pointer -- passing Australian flyhalf Michael Lynagh's 140 -- after the All Blacks' third try.
"Far from perfect," was how All Black skipper Reuben Thorne described his team's efforts, but he added that, although the error-rate was sky-high, New Zealand now had something on which they could build for the Tests against Ireland and the Tri-Nations.
Ralph almost followed his third minute try up with another one -- after a good solo-run -- a couple of minutes later, but the Italian cross-defence held him up as he crossed the line.
For the next 20-odd minutes New Zealand struggled to get their momentum going, and when they got within striking distance of the Azzurri line, handling errors and other mistakes crept in, sparing the visitors from a number of tries.
Débutante loosehead Joe McDonnell finally ended the All Blacks' try-scoring drought when he crashed over from a five-metre line-out. Mehrtens' conversion stretched the home team's lead to 14-0.
Five minutes later Kees Meeuws got his first Test try when he emulated his front-row partner by burrowing over from close-range. Again Mehrtens made no mistake with the conversion, and it looked as if the All Blacks were starting to pull away from their opponents.
However, the Italians did not lie down and continued to plague New Zealand with their strong pack and gallant defence.
Right at the end of the first-half Mehrtens and Italy's Gert Peens traded penalties to see the teams change sides with the home team leading by 24-3.
The New Zealanders came out storming in the second-half, and Ralph soon scored his second (41st minute) and third (44th minute) tries.
That effectively broke the Italians' backs, but they still didn't give up and continued to tackle the All Blacks as if their lives depended on it.
Kelleher scored -- like McDonnell and Meeuws -- by barging over from close to the try-line, and then Italian skipper Marco Bortolami got his team's only five-pointer when he intercepted an inside pass from Gibson to score next to the posts.
Lomu, Cullen and replacement prop Dave Hewitt scored the last three tries for the home team, and the game ended with the Azzurri over-powered, but not shamed.
Man of the match: It's difficult to give it to one player, but Christian Cullen signalled his return to the All Blacks -- after making just one appearance last season -- with a good all round performance. His linking-play was superb, every time he joined the backline the All Blacks looked dangerous and he proved he still had some pace left when he outsprinted the Italians for his late try. Lock Norm Maxwell and flank Marty Holah were solid up front.
Moment of the Match: Seeing that the All Blacks made so many mistakes, Marco Bortolami's intercept try was a beauty in an otherwise dullish game. The young skipper took Gibson's pass in his own half and galloped more than 50 metres, outsprinting all the New Zealand cover-defence, for his side's only try next to the sticks.
Villain of the Match: The game was very clean, except for one incident, when Italian flyhalf Francesco Mazzariol kicked Daryl Gibson in the face. Yes, it wasn't hard, but things like that don't belong on a rugby field.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 Joe McDonnell, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Simon Maling, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Taine Randell, 9 Byron Kelleher, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daryl Gibson, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves: David Hewett, Aaron Mauger, Mark Hammett, Jonah Lomu
Unused: Chris Jack, Richard McCaw, Justin Marshall
Italy: 1 Gianluca Faliva, 2 Andrea Moretti, 3 Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, 4 Marco Bortolami (c), 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Andrea De Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Sergio Parisse, 9 Matteo Mazzantini, 10 Francesco Mazzariol, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Cristian Zanoletti, 13 Giovanni Raineri, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves: Martin Castrogiovanni, Walter Pozzebon, Matteo Barbini, Mauro Bergamasco, Santiago Dellape, Juan Manuel Queirolo, Stefano Saviozzi
Attendance: 26000
Referee: Williams n.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Hewett D.N. 1, McDonnell J.M. 1, Cullen C.M. 1, Kelleher B.T. 1, Lomu J.T. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1, Ralph C.S. 3
Conv: Mehrtens A.P. 8
Pen K.: Mehrtens A.P. 1
Italy
Tries: Bortolami M. 1
Conv: Peens G. 1
Pen K.: Peens G. 1
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