ABs are back to their best

Mils Muliaina of the All Blacks is tackled by Pierre Spies of South Africa. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand 31 South Africa 17

Different venue, same heroes, same result. Either the Boks still haven't woken up, or the All Blacks are on the verge of being frighteningly good.

Again, the All Blacks had too much passion, too much desire, too much hunger. The foundation was laid almost as effectively as it was last week and, if anything, the defensive effort was more intense.

The blistering execution of last week wasn't quite there and the error count was that bit higher - but still, they were always in control, always looked the only winner and really, had the Boks on toast from the first kickoff right through to Israel Dagg's sensational bonus-point try on 65 minutes.

Once the All Blacks had the scoreboard reflecting their dominance, they began the aerobic blitzkrieg again and every South African on the field had only thoughts for being on the plane home this morning, far, far away from New Zealand and its haunting memories.

In two tests, they barely made a peep, bar a 10 minute period before halftime last night.

Remember how the Bulls and Stormers spent the Super 14 driving mauls prodigious distances? In 160 minutes of football, not once did the Springboks get one going.

The All Black aggression at source was too effective, as it was in their general tackling where the big men of the Springbok pack were hit behind the gain line and driven back.

Inevitably, the lineout came under more pressure and with the wind whipping the stadium and the rain intermittent, the high ball was a more effective weapon for the visitors. But not to the extent they got much out of it, or put the All Blacks under consistent pressure.

As the game wore on, they moved away from type, chanced their arm a bit more and looked a more dangerous side for it.

But opening things up also had the effect of highlighting the supremacy of the All Black defensive structure that always ended up forcing mistakes.

It also exposed the Springboks as being well behind the All Blacks in skill execution.

Pierre Spies, such a force earlier in the year, looked lost - pining for his gym where he really is a hero. But in the big, bad world of test football, he was made to look like a little boy as Kieran Read again outplayed him.

The Springbok props were also made to look like dinosaurs - the sort of one-dimensional players who have been made extinct in New Zealand.

Not only did CJ van der Linde, BJ Botha and Gurthro Steenkamp have a torrid time holding the scrum, they were horribly off the pace - immobile lumps who spent most of the night lying on the turf gasping for air.

It was eight versus six as a result in the forwards and for 10 minutes it was eight versus five. In an eerily similar beginning to the Eden Park test, the Boks lost their No 4 to a yellow card for a crass and needless act by Danie Rossouw.

He seemed to flick Richie McCaw's ear and then knee him in the head, all in full view of the referee.

If the Boks are going to hold on to this outdated belief that they have to intimidate the All Blacks, they need to re-think the execution. Reduced to 14 men, the Boks had no chance of containing the All Blacks. In those 10 minutes the All Blacks scored 10 points, taking advantage of the extra space and some curiously soft defence.

Read charged down the right, fed McCaw and with the Boks back-pedalling, the space opened up on the left where Ma'a Nonu eventually barged over.

A few minutes later and Piri Weepu scooped a hack through, took off surprisingly quickly and then had the patience to look around, take his time and then throw a perfect pass to the supporting Mils Muliaina who had the pace to finish from 40m.

That 10-point start was the relaxer the All Blacks needed. It left the Boks chasing from the earliest exchanges and meant that the likes of Tony Woodcock could show the full extent of his skills.

It meant that Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu and Brad Thorn could again thunder into anything that moved and that McCaw could maraud as effectively as he has all season.

New Zealand 31 (M. Nonu, M. Muliaina, R. Ranger, I. Dagg tries; D. Carter 2 pens, con; P. Weepu pen) South Africa 17 (D. Roossouw, S. Burger tries; M. Steyn 2 cons, pen). HT: 13-7.