Leicester Fainga'anuku of New Zealand runs in for a try. Photo / Photosport
Leicester Fainga'anuku of New Zealand runs in for a try. Photo / Photosport
The moments from a 73-0 Rugby World Cup victory: The All Blacks went into this morning’s match against Uruguay wanting to build on a powerhouse showing the week before against Italy as they build momentum in their Rugby World Cup campaign. Coach Ian Foster looked for big performances from stars like Sam Cane and Leicester Fainga’anuku.
3 minutes: The zero-man ruck
After a turnover just outside the Uruguayan 22, the All Blacks show their hand on breakdown tactics, throwing no bodies into a defensive ruck. It’s an approach they stick with throughout the match, targeting breakdowns where they feel there’s a strong chance of a turnover, and keeping as many men as possible – big ones and small ones – free for the counter-strike chance.
Against sharper teams, it’s an approach that will see the All Blacks concede ground – and likely points – but they back themselves to score in the scramble.
Ian Foster’s preferred tight-head prop departed the scene early, with damage to the same knee that received 30 stitches at Twickenham. It was unclear if the injury was a fresh strain – he appeared to be holding ice to the inside of his knee on the sideline – or damage to the existing stitches.
Regardless, injuries and suspensions to first-string players would have been high on Foster’s lengthy list of things to worry about. Management wanted Lomax to get some footy under his belt ahead of the knockout rounds.
His replacement, Fletcher Newell, was a busy ball carrier in the second half and did nicely to bag his first test try (complete with a Cam Roigard-style step). But Lomax is a real-deal prop – the kind of big unit they’ll need when going toe-to-toe with the meaty opponents waiting in the quarter-finals.
To make matters worse, Fletcher left the field with another knee injury in the 73rd minute. Foster will have an anxious wait for news from the doctor’s office. Has anyone made sure Joe Moody’s passport is up to date?
All Blacks prop Tyrel Lomax leaves the field after receiving medical treatment during the against Uruguay. Photo / Getty Images
53 minutes: Leicester Fainga’anuku moves into midfield
The Springboks’ funky 7-1 bench split has been the talk of the town, bringing focus on to the composition of the All Blacks’ bench. To get more versatility into their substitution options, All Blacks management fancied seeing Leicester Fainga’anuku run in midfield. Clocking in at 109kg, the Crusaders winger certainly has the physicality needed to run as a tight-spot battering ram.
By the time Jordie Barrett left the field in the 53rd minute, the result was a done deal and play was possibly too disrupted to read much into Fainga’anuku’s performance ... but we’ll give it a go anyway.
With his first touch of the ball as a make-do second five-eighths, Fainga’anuku boots the ball too long and it goes over the deadball line for a Uruguayan scrum. In the 59th minute, he sends a shoddy pass way behind the handy runners charging outside him. He mostly shows a winger’s instinct for holding the ball rather than giving it.
Finally, in the 64th minute he looks more the part with a nice little inside return pass that would have done Walter Little proud opening the way for Will Jordan’s second score.
Fainga’anuku’s tries in the 67th and 76th minutes were meat-and-veg for a strike winger. But it was while running as a winger in the opening minutes of the match that he was skinned by Uruguayan opposite Gaston Mieres.
The verdict as a midfielder? Worth a run against minnows like this, but way too risky against likely playoff opponents Ireland.
The man running in the No 15 jersey, Damien McKenzie, showed how much more impact he can bring.
Leicester Fainga'anuku scores against Uruguay. Photo / Getty Images
80 minutes: Sam Cane goes the distance
The skipper has never been short of ticker, but nonetheless All Blacks bosses will be pleased to have seen Cane running from the opening whistle to the finish.
He didn’t carry the ball much, clocking just 23 metres, but he topped the All Blacks’ tackle count with nine – the skipper is always an important and efficient worker in close-quarter exchanges. Cane was there in the 80th minute making a crucial try-saving tackle, and his on-field leadership would have been key in making the attack more direct at the opening of the second half.
The Chiefs toiler put in a solid shift, and should be wearing the black No 7 for the quarter-final. Whether he lasts the distance there is another matter.
