New Zealand gave England a lesson in total rugby in Dunedin, recording an awe-inspiring 36-3 victory over the world champions. Some might venture to think that the proper world order has been re-established after that "blip" in 2003 -- and on today's evidence they could be right.
Indeed, this win is the biggest defeat by any reigning Rugby World Cup champion, eclipsing South Africa's 28-0 defeat to the All Blacks in 1999.
If fans had been looking forward to this game, their excitement paled in comparison to the enthusiasm shown by the All Blacks, who tore into the bewildered tourists with abandon.
The wily mind of new All Black boss Graham Henry paid immediate dividends with New Zealand opting to call England's bluff and take them on at their strongest point -- the pack.
Clearly not one of England's army of back-room analysts had envisioned the opposition having the gaul -- or ability -- to tussle with the hulking English forwards, and the tourists were visibly stunned by the sheer cheek of the home side.
In the blitz that ensued from the very first second of play, New Zealand forced the English off the ball, upset their line-outs, and generally got up their noses at the break-downs.
England -- who were clearly banking on forward domination -- could not cope with the sheer ferocity of the New Zealand onslaught, and failed to impose structure to their game.
With England unable to get their mitts on the ball, tempers got the better of them, and a few tantrums during the first half will surely give the citing officials plenty to chew over.
A lot has been made of the absence of fly-half Jonny Wilkinson from England's cause since the Rugby World Cup, but in the pressure cooker of Carisbrook they missed the iron-will of Martin Johnson, their former leader.
With the world champions desperate for leadership and a calming word, Lawrence Dallaglio chose to substitute his furrowed brow for a dumb-struck gaze, and the England's skipper's only words of advice were directed at the match officials.
Still, none of this should take away form the brilliance of the All Blacks. Whilst England plodded along making elementary mistakes, New Zealand were all verve and passion -- incredible when you consider that they have not played together for over seven months -- astounding given the fact that they are under new management and a new captain.
The home team made a mockery of both the damp conditions and England's fabled defence by running in three tries in the first half via fly-half Carlos Spencer, and wingers Joe Rokocoko and Doug Howlett.
Dan Carter showed that the "new" New Zealand can be methodical as well as magical by nailing all his kicks to add 21 points to the home side's admirable total.
In contrast, all England could muster was a single penalty by fly-half Charlie Hodgson.
Carter opened his side's account with a penalty, but England appeared to have weathered the early cyclone when Hodgson answered back in the 13th minute to score England's only points of the game.
But just two minutes later the All Blacks moved the ball neatly down the line with Spencer releasing Howlett before looping round the wing to touch down in the right corner.
Soon enough, another brilliant All Blacks counter-attack ended when flanker Richie McCaw fed Rokocoko after a dazzling display of inter-passing between forwards and back, and the big wing cut inside some flailing English arms to score a converted try.
Howlett crosses for his side's third and final try in the 32nd minute after a straight-forward move of a scrum combining captain Tana Umaga and the outstanding back three of Mils Muliaina, Howlett and Rokocoko.
Carter converted and added two further penalties to leave England 30-3 adrift at half-time.
England coach Sir Clive Woodward tried to injected some new blood into his weary-looking side, sending on Joe Worsley for Chris Jones and Steve Borthwick for Danny Grewcock.
The visitors managed to hold their own for the majority of the second half, but -- with a cushion of 27 points -- the All Blacks began to indulge their adoring fans with a series of adventurous moves that looked pretty but failed to worry the English unduly.
But given the standards this crop of All Blacks has set themselves, a few more outings should be enough to allow them to iron out even the most minor imperfections in their game.
England, on the other hand, have plenty to think about ahead of the second Test in Auckland on Saturday.
Man of the match: Many contenders for this award, and all New Zealanders -- although England fullback Josh Lewsey once again showed immense heart. Chiefs flanker Jono Gibbes had an outstanding debut, but Joe Rokocoko is the hero of the hour -- grabbing his 18th try in only his 13th Test is no mean feat, but he showed a great deal of maturity and his defence was impeccable.
Moment of the Match: The opening five seconds set the tone for the game, with England left stunned by a Joe Rokocoko break from the kick-off, gliding past three tacklers to immediately put England on the back-foot -- and there they remained.
Villain of the Match: Perhaps the most full-bloodied game of the past year -- and what a spectacle it made! The ferocious early exchanges saw Danny Grewcock -- sent off on the same ground in 1998 -- and All Blacks prop Carl Hayman exchange punches, with Simon Shaw also swinging his handbag a little later on. But we bring Ben Cohen to trial for deciding to have a whinge at referee Jonathan Kaplan after England WON a penalty in front of the post with the scores standing at 17-3. The decision -- quite correctly -- was immediately reversed. You what, Ben?
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Keith Robinson, 6 Jono Gibbes, 7 Richie McCaw, 8 Xavier Rush, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daniel Carter, 13 Tana Umaga (c), 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves: Nick Evans, Marty Holah, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock, Sam Tuitupou
Unused: Jerry Collins, Byron Kelleher
England: Trevor Woodman, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Simon Shaw, 6 Richard Hill, 7 Chris Jones, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio (c), 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 11 Ben Cohen, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 15 Josh Lewsey
Reserves: Andy Gomarsall, Mark Regan, Joe Worsley, Stuart Abbott, Steve Borthwick, Matt Stevens
Unused: Olly Barkley
Attendance: 36000
Referee: Kaplan j.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 1, Rokocoko J.T. 1, Spencer C.J. 1
Conv: Carter D.W. 3
Pen K.: Carter D.W. 5
England
Pen K.: Hodgson C.C. 1
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