Reuben Thorne's All Blacks, who have been under pressure in New Zealand of late for some poor performances, got their 2003 Tri-Nations campaign off to the best possible start with a record 52-16 win over the Springboks at Securicor Loftus.
All Black coach John Mitchell has received a hammering in New Zealand of late for dropping Anton Oliver and not selecting Taine Randell and Christian Cullen, but this victory would have bought the Kiwi mentor some time as the "Men in Black" plan their assault on the William Webb Ellis trophy later in the year.
In the process the All Blacks also re-wrote a host of records for Test matches against the Springboks, but for Rudolf Straeuli it was the second time in five Test matches that his side has conceded 50 points or more, with England being the most recent nation to do so (at Twickenham last year).
Not only was this New Zealand's biggest-ever win over the Springboks -- both home and away -- surpassing the 28-nil scoreline in Dunedin in 1999, but it was also South Africa's biggest-ever loss in the Tri-Nations, while New Zealand's record of seven tries on the day equalled their previous record of tries against the Boks in a single game.
Both wingers Joe Rokocoko -- on his Tri-Nations debut -- and Doug Howlett scored two tries, joining Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson, Frank Bunce, Ben Tune, Joe Roff and Chris Latham as players to have done so in Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa.
The Springboks began the game like the proverbial house on fire, but a 15-minute try-scoring blitz from the New Zealanders shortly after the 10-minute mark shut the Boks out, with the "Men in Black" weighing in with tries from Carlos Spencer, Howlett and Rokocoko, with the visitors' superior skill proving too much for the home team.
Spencer's try came after a wonderful burst from lock Chris Jack, who spotted the smallest of gaps around a ruck in the Bok half. He simply leant down, picked the ball up and ran ahead before powering through a tackle from Brent Russell.
The ball was re-cycled and Spencer went left, showed the ball to Stefan Terblanché and then coasted in. Spencer missed the conversion -- after missing an earlier penalty attempt -- but the Kiwis were in the lead at 5-3 after 11 minutes.
But New Zealand's lead was to be short-lived, with Koen succeeding with a well-struck drop-goal from the All Blacks' 10-metre line, after the home side had come close to scoring their first try of the day -- only for Brent Russell, the hero from last week, to knock-on with an open tryline after the initial break from Koen and a superb assist from skipper Corné Krige.
Then the All Blacks stepped into over-drive, with their highly-skilled backs either punching holes or creating holes in SA's brittle defence through their superior power and pace.
New Zealand's second try came off a simple backline move, with Spencer passing to Aaron Mauger, who had drifted down the backline past his marker André Snyman, before unloading to a flying Howlett, who sped over. Spencer finally converted and the visitors led by 15-6.
The Kiwis then began attacking from their own territory, with fullback Mils Muliaina exploiting some space down the blindside before Rokocoko got in on the act.
Russell managed to half-stop the powerful Kiwi wing and the ball eventually went loose when Richie McCaw could not control it, but a wild inside pass from Russell found the All Black No.11 again, instead of Krige, Russell's intended target, and Rokocoko ran over unopposed.
Spencer converted and suddenly the Boks were staring down the barrel at 22-6, which soon became 22-9 after Koen's second successful penalty attempt.
Any hopes of a Springbok comeback were dashed early in the second stanza when Spencer slotted a penalty soon after the break, while, crucially, just minutes later Stefan Terblanché somehow contrived to lose the ball as he dived for the corner with Thorne in close attendance.
The build-up to Terblanché's try -- courtesy of a strong run from De Wet Barry -- suggested that the Boks had some fight left, but his silly error, and the Kiwi's subsequent scrambling on defence, took them back into enemy territory where Spencer's boot earned them another three points.
A flood of replacements from both sides saw the game lose a bit of shape and structure, but when it returned some delightful handling from Spencer, Jerry Collins and Tana Umaga led to Rokocoko's second try -- which, it must be said, was not as easy as his first five-pointer. Although his first score was like taking candy from a baby ...
Three more All Black tries -- and two Spencer conversions -- took their score past the 50-point mark, while South Africa's best back on the day, greenhorn left-wing Ashwin Willemse, scrambled over for his team's only try of the day. Not that it mattered for much.
Amazingly, Willemse's try -- in the 72nd minute -- signalled South Africa's first points since a Koen penalty in the 33rd minute.
The Kiwis, who still need to brush up their forward play, can take a lot of confidence from this win -- their sixth out of a possible eight on South African soil in the Tri-Nations -- while South Africa must be wishing that these 80 minutes were nothing but a dream.
The truth is, the Boks can pinch themselves well into the night, but the sooner they realise their shortcomings the better, with some individuals -- Joost van der Westhuizen, André Snyman and Stefan Terblanché in particular -- just not up to the required standard of Test rugby, especially when compared to their awesome All Black opponents on the day.
Man of the match: Just about all 15 of the New Zealanders deserve a look-in here, while for the home team, only Juan Smith and Ashwin Willemse can look back at this game with any pride at all. The three key men in the All Black machine were back rowers Richie McCaw and Jerry Collins and first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, who recovered from a nervy start to control the game superbly from the No.10 position. But, in the end we opted for Collins for his powerful defence and strong ball-carrying on attack, with the Hurricanes No.8 slowly, but surely, making a name for himself at the back of the All Black scrum.
Moment of the Match: Joe Rokocoko's second try was a prime example of wonderful handling from the New Zealanders and the patience required to putting points on the board at the highest level. Spencer timed his pass well, past two Bok defenders, Collins flung the "hot potato" out to Tana Umaga, who went inside, before flicking the ball out to the newest All Black wing sensation, who simply dived over for the try.
Villain of the Match: The bumbling Boks were all headed for this award, but All Black replacement prop Kees Meeuws wins this award for his silly elbow in the face of Springbok front rower Robbie Kempson. Meeuws had just scored a try, Kempson's hand fell on his face and Meeuws responded with a swift elbow into Kempson's nose. Why do that when your team is winning?
Yellow card(s): Kees Meeuws (New Zealand, 66)
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves: Rodney So'oialo, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Justin Marshall, Kees Meeuws
Unused: Daniel Carter, Caleb Ralph
South Africa: 1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves: Craig Davidson, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Andre Pretorius, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused: Gcobani Bobo
Attendance: 50000
Referee: Rolland a.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 2, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv: Spencer C.J. 4
Pen K.: Spencer C.J. 3
South Africa
Tries: Willemse A.K. 1
Conv: Koen L.J. 1
Pen K.: Koen L.J. 2
Drop G.: Koen L.J. 1
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