All Blacks trounce Tonga World Cup warm-up clash in Hamilton
By Patrick McKendry, NZ Herald
An afternoon of free-scoring high numbers for the All Blacks against Tonga in Hamilton has finished with the most significant for them as they prepare to board a plane for the Rugby World Cup in Japan: zero obvious injuries.
That by itself will allow coach Steve Hansen to rest a lot easier over the next couple of nights before Monday’s flight because, with five players missing this warm-up match against Tonga due to niggling injuries, another more serious one to any of his match-day 23 would have been distressing for all concerned.
Just as important was the conclusion to an incident in the final minutes in which replacement fullback Jordie Barrett collided with Tongan outside back James Faiva when contesting a high ball, an act which sent Faiva tumbling forwards to land on his upper back.
It was a potential act of foul play checked by referee Angus Gardner and his assistants, but fortunately for Barrett, the officials decided he had collided with teammate Sevu Reece after being in a position to compete for the ball. It was accidental, in other words, and no foul play.
Another red card for a Barrett after Scott’s indiscretion in Perth would have sent Hansen and company into a royal funk.
As it was, it will be Tonga who will have the most to mull over following this because the match was as one-sided as it gets, the All Blacks playing the final 15 minutes with 14 men after second-five Ryan Crotty went off – thankfully uninjured – and there was no one on the reserves bench to replace him.
It was presumably a planned move – a practice for the possibility of being a man down at the World Cup – and if it was a mercy-rule type arrangement from the All Blacks’ coaches then so much the better, for this was a bit ugly at times for the men in red, who played with 14 themselves for 10 minutes after lock Sam Lousi was sinbinned for a no-arms tackle on replacement first-five Josh Ioane.
Starting in the eighth minute when Sevu Reece stood up Tonga midfielder and skipper Siale Piutau to score the All Blacks’ first try after eight minutes, it was a cruel demolition which may have helped with both teams’ fitness but it would presumably have done little for Tonga’s morale a day out from their flight to Japan.
The home side scored eight tries in the first half for a 54-0 halftime lead – their second highest first-half points total in a test behind the 84 they scored in the first 40 minutes against Japan in the 1995 World Cup.
From there it was a race for other records, with George Bridge scoring four and getting close to Marc Ellis’ record of six in a match in that same test against Japan, won 145-17 by the All Blacks.
Under bright sun at Waikato Stadium in front of a crowd of 23,443 enjoying a pre-season type atmosphere, the All Blacks scored 14 tries in total, the only scares coming when replacement prop Angus Ta’avao received treatment on an ankle injury before continuing and then Jordie Barrett’s unfortunate collision.
Not surprisingly, the All Blacks were on a different level to Tonga for most of the match. After 30 minutes they hadn’t missed a tackle and they missed only one in total in the first half.
Replacement first-five Ioane enjoyed his first time on the field for the All Blacks after replacing Beauden Barrett at halftime and Ioane’s first act was to send the re-start into Bridge’s hands for another try.
Ardie Savea was impressive as usual, as were his loose forward colleagues Kieran Read and Matt Todd. Crotty, who scored two tries, made a welcome return from a broken thumb and looked sharp, as did fullback Ben Smith.
It was always going to be a matter of by how many rather than if, but the All Blacks impressed with their focus and control. This was a valuable exercise for them. For Tonga, perhaps not so much.
All Blacks 92 (George Bridge 4, Ben Smith 2, Ryan Crotty 2, Sevu Reece, Codie Taylor, Kieran Read, TJ Perenara, Matt Todd, Ardie Savea tries; Beauden Barrett 7 cons, Josh Ioane 4 cons)
Tonga 7 (Siale Piutau try; Sonatane Takulua con)
Halftime: 54-0
This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and was republished here with permission.
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Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
31 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments