All Blacks: Carter the toast of a team full of leaders

Daniel Carter was the man of the match against Wales at Carisbrook with 27 points including two tries. Photo / Getty Images

It was hardly a hunch. Not when All Black coach Graham Henry was talking about a player with the class of Daniel Carter.

Henry knew his man. Before the test season started he suggested it would not be long before Carter hit his best quality after a modest season, by his exceptional standards, during the Super 14.

It was not far from that top drawer for Carter at Carisbrook on Saturday night as the five-eighths collected 27 points and the All Blacks stopped a two-test losing streak at Carisbrook with an impressive 42-9 victory against Wales.

If Carter was the man of the match, there were also memorable contributions from Richie McCaw, Victor Vito, Kieran Read, Joe Rokocoko and Cory Jane in front of a sellout 28,300 crowd.

The subs also brought some real clout. Richard Kahui and Tony Woodcock showed form they had rarely displayed in the Super 14. But the emphasis was on Carter, the leading scorer in All Black history.

"He had his running game back, his goalkicking was superb, his kicking in the second half was pinpoint and he is a great defender on top of that. Is there anything I have missed out?" assistant coach Wayne Smith asked.

Henry felt the re-emergence of Carter's full range of talents was no fluke. In a team full of leaders he got more freedom and assistance to deliver his rugby skills.

He began slowly, as did the team. Several of his kicks were charged down while the All Blacks were pinned in their territory.

Captain McCaw was concerned his side lacked urgency in the first half as Wales took the initiative. It even took the All Blacks a while to get going after stern halftime instructions while Welsh coach Warren Gatland accepted a 50-minute effort from his team was nowhere good enough to stay with the All Blacks.

Wales had three chances to score and missed the lot, while Gatland queried the intervention of Conrad Smith which freed the ball for Cory Jane to sprint 75m for a shock first-half try.

All Black spearhead Carter lauded the help of his teammates for the turnaround in his performance.

"It definitely helps my game. It was a bit of a learning curve in the Super 14 because I am used to experienced players near me. But Jimmy [Cowan] and Conrad [Smith] take on that role in the All Blacks."

The excitement and energy came from the young men who were being blended into their All Black careers while Wales seemed to drop their intensity for the last 15 minutes after conceding several tries.

Cowan was unsure how this victory compared with the opening win against Ireland.

The defence improved enormously but the All Blacks found it difficult to find some continuity against the rush defence from Wales while they also lacked intensity in their kick-chase work.

Statistics showed the All Black lineout pinched one throw from Wales, the scrum steadied when Woodcock rocked on to the park while the defence improved 100 per cent from New Plymouth.

It needed to be strong as Wales applied much of the heat in the first half and they would have hit the interval in disbelief they were 15-9 adrift.

They shed two opportunist but careless tries as Keven Mealamu barged over from a tap penalty then Jane raced away from a controversial turnover. Wales held on until 10 minutes after the break when Carter scooted in for the first of his double and the All Blacks' pace intensified.

Curiously, both coaches echoed similar post-match sentiments. Gatland spoke about the tests being a "massive learning curve for us" before adding, as Henry did, that the challenge now was to come up with something sharper this week in Hamilton.