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Mils Muliaina scores a try - Source: Reuters -
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It was a long wait, but it was worth it as the All Blacks
finally roared into gear to hammer France 39-12 and complete
another unbeaten rugby tour of Europe.
After frustrating victories over Wales, Italy and England where
they scored three tries in all, the All Blacks' backs cut loose on
the firm Stade Velodrome turf to race in five tries to none and
reclaim the Dave Gallaher Trophy.
Wearing white jerseys for a rare occasion on foreign soil, their
clean defensive sheet also sealed a second consecutive four-match
tour of Europe where they'd kept their opponents tryless.
Inspirational captain Richie McCaw ended the match named the
International Rugby Board's player of the year.
France began with a roar but had little answer to the All Blacks'
speed and power, and their frustration showed in the dying minutes
when two ugly melees broke out.
Sitiveni Sivivatu, Mils Muliaina, Jerome Kaino, Cory Jane and
Conrad Smith scored the All Blacks' tries, with the latter one of
their best players and No 8 Kieran Read rampaging all over the
field.
Record All Blacks test pointscorer Dan Carter kicked six from seven
for a 14-point haul as he guided a hungry backline around before a
stunned home crowd of 60,000.
After much hand-wringing over the state of test rugby, the All
Blacks showed there was still room for an open, running game as
they punched away at the fringes and counter-attacked brilliantly,
with Muliaina producing another standout performance at the
back.
The win avenged the All Blacks' 22-27 defeat in Dunedin in June
when they lost the trophy, and inflicted France's second defeat in
10 tests here. The All Blacks lost their only previous test against
France here, 42-33 in 2000.
The atmosphere was electric as the teams prepared for kickoff, with
French props Fabien Barcella and Sylvain Marconnet lingering after
the All Blacks' haka in a tense face-off.
The fired-up duo took it onto the field and led a demolition of the
first scrum which saw Julien Dupuy goal a handy penalty.
But the All Blacks' confidence on attack soon paid dividends as
they attacked from a lineout, hit some holes and from the second
phase Carter sent Sivivatu away for a stroll to the line around his
marker Vincent Clerc.
France had their attacking chances but the All Blacks' defence was
solid; with Barcella butchering a try when he ignored an unmarked
David Marty after Yannick Jauzion cut through.
The hosts had to be content with penalties as the accurate Dupuy
goaled two in a row to make it 9-7, including a 50m effort off the
upright.
The All Blacks then seized control in the 23rd minute with a
magnificent counter-attacking try from inside their own 22m,
started by a long Muliaina pass before Sivivatu scorched down the
left flank and in-passed to his fullback who cruised in.
Another Read linebreak after a Carter chip saw lock Tom Donnelly go
agonisingly close before losing the ball, but from the next scrum
the All Blacks turned the tables on the hosts with a mighty shove
which saw Kaino slap the ball down to score.
Carter's conversion made it 22-9 before a 35m Francois Trinh-Duc
dropped goal narrowed the gap to 10 at the break.
Dupuy's radar deserted him after halftime with two key misses just
as France were threatening to storm back.
Carter extended the lead with his second penalty and began to take
charge, running at the line and kicking expertly in general
play.
Huge one-on-one hits from Read and Sivivatu kept the All Blacks on
attack, and another counter saw the tourists seal it in the 63rd
minute when Jane dashed down the touchline and ran onto his own
centre kick to score under the posts.
Smith added the icing in the 71st minute when he dashed blind from
a ruck, after which the French frustration boiled over with Tony
Woodcock and Clerc squaring up in a melee which saw All Blacks
coaching staff Mike Cron and Mick Byrne step in to add calm.
In other games Ireland have stunned South Africa 15-10, Argentina has defeated Scotland 9-6, Italy has overcome Samoa 24-6 and the Wallabies thrashed Wales 33-12 .
What did you think of the All Blacks' performance against the
French? Leave your comments below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentTikotex said on 2009-11-29 @ 14:08 NZDT: Report abusive post
It was a game of two halves - we won both.