stand-in captain Jerry Collins scores a try in his manof the match performance against minnows Portugal.
The All Blacks have put in a overall pleasing performance to overcome the courage of the amatuer Portuguese in a 16 tries to 1, 108-13 thrashing.
It only took a couple of minutes for Fijian flyer Joe Rokocoko to dot down. And he got another a few minutes later with an individual effort giving New Zealand an early 12-0 lead. But the biggest cheer of the first half went to the Portuguese back Goncalo Malheiro when he slotted an impressive 40 metre drop goal to the delight of the 45,000 strong Lyon crowd who gave him a standing ovation.
The Portuguese defence improved and they kept the All Blacks try-less for the rest of the first quarter. But then the tournament favourites upped the tempo and scored six more tries before the half time break. These went to Isaia Toeava, Ali Williams, Aaron Mauger, Jerry Collins and Chris Masoe. The Portuguese seemed to be running out of fuel as the All Blacks scored some brilliant free running tries. .
It wasn’t all glory for the kiwis as a rejuvenated Portuguese side came out for the second stanza. An intercept and then a kick down field gave the Europeans a line-out five metres out from the All Black line. The Portuguese clamed the line-out and set it up for pick and drives. They inched their way closer every time before Rui Cordeiro scored a try that he will remember for the rest of his life. The try was converted to get the Portuguese into double figures.
But then the All Blacks kicked back into gear as Brendon Leonard scored a good try before Andrew Hore scored another with a barnstorming run. Fly half Nick Evans scored his only try to go along with his tidy kicking as the Portuguese started to tire.
The New Zealanders then magnificently ran in six tries in the final quarter of the match. Centre Conrad Smith scored two of those in his first game back from injury. The others went to Andy Ellis, Aaron Mauger, Leon MacDonald and Carl Hayman. Earlier Portugal landed a penalty to give them a respectable thirteen points in the match.
Nick Evans had a solid game with the boot just missing two of his sixteen attempts and getting a match tally of 33 points.
The All Blacks should be pleased with their performance but there are still improvements to be made to cut down the unforced errors. There was only one injury scare as fullback Mills Muliana went off in the seventh minute.
The Portuguese can go with there heads held high. They scored a try against the number one ranked side in the world and they showed mighty courage in their play.
The Portuguese defence improved and they kept the All Blacks try-less for the rest of the first quarter. But then the tournament favourites upped the tempo and scored six more tries before the half time break. These went to Isaia Toeava, Ali Williams, Aaron Mauger, Jerry Collins and Chris Masoe. The Portuguese seemed to be running out of fuel as the All Blacks scored some brilliant free running tries. .
It wasn’t all glory for the kiwis as a rejuvenated Portuguese side came out for the second stanza. An intercept and then a kick down field gave the Europeans a line-out five metres out from the All Black line. The Portuguese clamed the line-out and set it up for pick and drives. They inched their way closer every time before Rui Cordeiro scored a try that he will remember for the rest of his life. The try was converted to get the Portuguese into double figures.
But then the All Blacks kicked back into gear as Brendon Leonard scored a good try before Andrew Hore scored another with a barnstorming run. Fly half Nick Evans scored his only try to go along with his tidy kicking as the Portuguese started to tire.
The New Zealanders then magnificently ran in six tries in the final quarter of the match. Centre Conrad Smith scored two of those in his first game back from injury. The others went to Andy Ellis, Aaron Mauger, Leon MacDonald and Carl Hayman. Earlier Portugal landed a penalty to give them a respectable thirteen points in the match.
Nick Evans had a solid game with the boot just missing two of his sixteen attempts and getting a match tally of 33 points.
The All Blacks should be pleased with their performance but there are still improvements to be made to cut down the unforced errors. There was only one injury scare as fullback Mills Muliana went off in the seventh minute.
The Portuguese can go with there heads held high. They scored a try against the number one ranked side in the world and they showed mighty courage in their play.
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