The Stats Don't Lie: Read leads from the front

Kieran Read was the top ball carrier for the All Blacks with 15 carries for a gain of 86 metres. Photo / Getty Images

Tracey Nelson crunches the numbers from the All Blacks' 42-10 win over Italy.

Kieran Read celebrated his first game as All Black captain by scoring his eighth test try. Read was the top ball carrier for the All Blacks with 15 carries for a gain of 86 metres.

Sam Cane may not have always stood out during this game, but he topped the tackle count with 11 tackles and six assists, missing just two. He also topped the numbers for arrivals in the first three players to the breakdown, with a total of 36.

Cane was second behind Read for ball carries, making 11 runs for a gain of 49 metres. Liam Messam was the third best ball carrier for the All Blacks with eight runs for 65 metres.

Brodie Retallick also impressed with his workrate, second in breakdown arrivals (33) and tackles (10 plus two assists) behind Cane. He was the All Blacks' main lineout option, taking four throws.

The All Blacks won 100 percent of their lineout throws, and stole two throws (Ali Williams and Kieran Read) off Italy.

The All Blacks made 114 tackles and 28 assists, missing a total of 17. Almost two thirds of the All Blacks' tackles (72 plus 22 assists) had to be made in the first half.

Julian Savea, Aaron Cruden and Ali Williams were the top of that missed tackle list, all missing three tackles in this game.

Italy made 135 tackles and missed 29, their top tackler was lock Francesco Minto with 14 tackles and no misses. Second five and try scorer Alberto Sgarbi also made 14 tackles but missed five, the most misses of any of his team.

Cruden made the most running metres of any player on the field with 94 metres gained from eight runs. He also landed seven of his eight kicks for goal (three penalties and four conversions), and clocked up 50 test points with his second penalty goal of the game.

Savea scored his 10th try in just his seventh test match - his two tries making it the third time he has bagged a brace in a game this season, having also scored three against Ireland in Auckland.

Turnovers in possession cost Italy, with 11 handling errors and four held-up mauls contributing to their total of 19. The All Blacks had just 12 turnovers, coming from nine knock-ons (two each from Kieran Read and Julian Savea), a forward pass, and two rucks.

The penalty count was remarkably low in this test match (Alain Rolland averages just over 20 penalties per test match), with a total of just 11 penalties awarded and only two (against Italy) awarded in the offending team's 22. The All Blacks conceded six, with half being scrum penalties and the remainder coming at ruck situations.