All Blacks captain Sam Cane in action against Uruguay in Lyon. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks 73 Uruguay 0
By Liam Napier in Lyon
Their passage to the quarter-finals is safely secured but the All Blacks must significantly improve if they are to survive beyond that sudden-death World Cup juncture.
Glance at another blowout scoreline and you would believe the All Blacks are primed for any challenge to come at this World Cup.
The reality, though, is they must refine many aspects of their execution as their defining moment approaches.
In a tale of two halves, during their final match in Lyon, the All Blacks struggled to find their rhythm against a spirited Uruguay side. Held scoreless for 19 minutes, Ian Foster’s men eventually settled into their patchy work to lead 26-0 at halftime and then comfortably progress to next week’s quarter-final in Paris.
Inspired by Damian McKenzie’s attacking brilliance from fullback, the All Blacks claimed 11 tries, beat 45 defenders and kept a clean sheet against the world No 17 but it was far from aesthetically pleasing throughout with wayward passes and frequent errors contrasting the commanding margin.
Seventeen turnovers underlines the fluctuating nature of the All Blacks’ performance. In short, the lack of accuracy won’t be anywhere near good enough to progress past the quarter-finals.
Next week is, of course, an entirely different beast. The All Blacks will recall Ardie Savea, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane, Brodie Retallick and Mark Telea among other starters to lift standards but there will be plenty for the coaches to chew over in the review.
The All Blacks, following this bonus point victory, must now wait for France and Italy’s match on Saturday morning (NZT) and Ireland’s clash with Scotland the next day to determine their knockout opponent.
At this stage, though, the All Blacks are one step closer to a quarter-final showdown with Andy Farrell’s Ireland, the world No 1 unbeaten through their past 16 tests.
The All Blacks will sweat on Tyrel Lomax’s availability after the first-choice tight-head prop departed with a knee injury in the eighth minute. Lomax returned off the bench last week against Italy – his first match in this World Cup – after recovering from 30 stitches to his thigh.
Sam Whitelock celebrated becoming the first All Black to notch 150 tests with a strong starting display. Luke Jacobson, replacing Savea at No 8, was among the best in the All Blacks’ pack.
The All Blacks scrum continued its dominance to lay a platform for multiple tries. McKenzie, in a man-of-the-match effort, injected his presence into the line at every opportunity to claim two tries – his one-handed regather and flick inside for Will Jordan one sumptuous piece of skill.
Leicester Fainga’anuku also stated his case for a place on the first-choice bench with a hat-trick that showcased his power qualities from left wing and the midfield.
Collectively, though, the All Blacks ball security was a major issue. With Uruguay succeeding in disrupting their breakdown, this area will be a focal point as Ireland or the Springboks loom large.
Since their tournament-opening loss to France, the All Blacks have racked up 240 points in three pool victories over Namibia, Italy and Uruguay. How that lightweight preparation leaves them for the knockouts remains to be seen.
The disruptive effects of compromising continuity by ushering in nine starting changes were widely evident in the All Blacks’ disjointed start.
Nine first-half turnovers – four in the opening 12 minutes – punctuated the All Blacks’ lack of cohesion. In their scrappy opening quarter, they were guilty of forcing the issues, pushing passes, failing to protect their ball and rash decision-making.
Scoring 14 tries in the romp over Italy bred impatience as the All Blacks attempted to score of almost every play.
After having two tries scrubbed out for a lost ball and neck roll, the All Blacks needed a desperate Anton Lienert-Brown try-saving tackle on Uruguay wing Nicolas Freitas to prevent the underdogs from claiming the first points.
Cam Roigard has been a big mover at this World Cup but the Hurricanes halfback endured a difficult opening half. He lost the ball over the line, had a kick charged with a stacked overlap outside him and skied one box kick which resulted in a penalty before finding his feet.
Uruguay, who lost to a second-string French side by 16 points earlier in the tournament, deserve credit. The passionate South Americans turned down shots at goal, challenged the breakdown and found success getting around the All Blacks on the edges. They had chances to score but could not quite grasp the finishing finesse to punish the All Blacks.
With McKenzie sparking their attack, the All Blacks eventually claimed four tries to secure the crucial bonus point in the 38th minute.
Ultimately, in the context of the World Cup, the bonus-point victory is all that matters. The All Blacks are through to the quarter-finals. Whoever they confront next week, their fate rests in their own hands.
Tries: Damian McKenzie (20′, 53′), Richie Mo’unga (25′), Will Jordan (33′, 65′), Cam Roigard (38′), Fletcher Newell (45′), Leicester Fainga’anuku (49′, 68′, 77′), Tamaiti Williams (73′)
Conversions: Richie Mo’unga (21′, 26′, 34′, 50′, 54′), Damian McKenzie (66′, 69′), Beauden Barrett (74′, 78′)
Halftime: 26-0
Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010, and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.
England players were questioned by police as soon as they landed at Christchurch Airport.