Another two: Richard Kahui
Related links
Teams
Also see
New Zealand recorded two wins from two in World Cup 2011 on Friday with a slick 83-7 victory over Japan, a result that saw them score thirteen tries.
It quickly turned into a procession in Waikato as Ma'a Nonu caused all kinds of problems for the Brave Blossoms, who had rested several of their first-choice players. New Zealand had done something similar during midweek while niggles for Richie McCaw and Dan Carter saw them pull out soon after being named in the starting XV.
What was worrying early on for the All Blacks was the kicking from hand and tee of Colin Slade - one could picture the scribes already sharpening their pens for the second-choice fly-half. However, a settling conversion on 31 minutes calmed the number ten and he went on to enjoy a try-scoring effort for a side that was always on the front-foot.
Nonu was the key to this victory though, with his ability to fix and beat a man always keeping Japan on the back foot. It seemed like visiting head coach John Kirwan had targetted the soon-to-be Blues man by loading two players onto him, but that proved futile as Nonu tore the opposition to shreds in setting up his team-mates.
Centre colleague Conrad Smith, who was in for the benched Sonny Bill Williams, opened the scoring on just four minutes when number eight Victor Vito, Nonu and full-back Isaia Toeava combined to send over the number thirteen. Slade was on-target with the conversion from close to the left touchline but then mis-judged a penalty attempt soon after.
New Zealand had definitely found their rhythm and it didn't take too long for them to cross again, with Richard Kahui ghosting over after good work from Toeava for his third try of the tournament so far. He would get his fourth later on. The score was 12-0 with the television camera showing John Kirwan trying to keep a brave face. Things would not improve though.
On the other end of the scale, there was some pleasant viewing for Graham Henry, who will have a fair few selection headaches to deal with ahead of facing France in Auckland.
Nonu has nailed his spot down and Henry would have been encouraged by how Williams played on the right wing, scoring two tries in his cameo. Israel Dagg meanwhile has to start.
Joining Williams, Smith and Kahui on the try-scoring chart was Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu, Andy Ellis, Slade, Toeava, Andrew Hore, Nonu and Adam Thomson. The All Blacks now have until next Saturday to recover before facing les Bleus in a Pool decider.
Man of the match: While it took him over an hour to cross the whitewash, Ma'a Nonu was at the hear of all things good for New Zealand. Both he and Isaia Toeava were regularly on hand with assists for team-mates but Nonu was the man who caused the most problems.
Moment of the match: We always knew the All Blacks would be the ones scoring the tries but when veteran wing Hirotoki Onozawa went over for Japan on 58 minutes, it led to one of the biggest cheers of the night.
Villain of the match: Played in a good spirit. Nothing dirty.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Smith, Kahui 2, Kaino, Mealamu, Ellis, Slade, SB Williams 2, Toeava, Hore, Nonu, Thomson
Con: Slade 9
For Japan:
Try: Onozawa
Con: Williams
New Zealand: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Adam Thomson, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu (c), 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Anthony Boric, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.
Japan: 15 Taihei Ueda, 14 Takahisa Usuzuki, 13 Koji Taira, 12 Yuta Imamura, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 Murray Williams, 9 Atsushi Hiwasa, 8 Takashi Kikutani (c), 7 Michael Leitch, 6 Itaru Taniguchi, 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Hithoshi Ono, 3 Nozomu Fujita, 2 Yusuke Aoki, 1 Naoki Kawamata.
Replacements: 16 Hiroki Yuhara, 17 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 18 Yuji Kitagawa, 19 Sione Talikavili Vatuvei, 20 Tomoki Yoshida, 21 Shaun Webb, 22 Alisi Tupuailai.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
By Adam Kyriacou
Comments
Motuman1 says...
@ lostguy101
We lost the Tri-nations mate not the Bledisloe check your facts before talking crap.
Posted 02:57 19th September 2011
dylster says...
@ makemehappy
sorry, misread your post.
but on the positive side did you see the Irish?! hahaha - awesome
Posted 21:40 17th September 2011
makemehappy says...
dylster - try reading my comments again. I'm criticising the ref that awarded the penalty! Have a closer look next time!
Posted 14:45 17th September 2011
leinster_goy says...
@kiwikev
i set out a possible solution below in some detail. a world cup with 16 teams, only 10 automatic places to keep weaker tier 1 teams on their toes. less places = more competitive = better quality
Posted 12:55 17th September 2011
rugby_phile says...
Hey guys , to all the critics give the ABs a break. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Last week they got slated by these forums for taking the foot off the break after wrapping the game up against Tonga in the first 30 minutes, and this week they are getting slated for humiliating Japan, playing for the whole 80 mins and proving nothing.
You don't choose you opponents, you play what is in front of you, period. I don't know if they are going to win this thing or not this time, but I bet if you ask the rest of the coaches who they would like to avoid on the way to the final, the vast majority would say the ABs. So chill out and enjoy it and stop all this negativity.
Posted 05:37 17th September 2011
KiwiKev says...
@leinster_goy
So give us the solution there wise one? A solution that affords Tier 2 / 3 teams with the opportunity to get better and to have exposure on the grand stage...
When you have that sorted, please share it with the IRB as I am certain that they will waiting with baited breath to implement your ideas...
Since you are not really an Ireland fan I won't mention that the Drunks have never beaten the AB so following your rather flawed logic, they should not be allowed to play in the next RWC...
Posted 04:39 17th September 2011
coronach says...
I think games like this should be played, it is good for the sport; after all, if we look at the history of wins and losses, on that basis neither Argentina, Ireland nor Scotland would ever qualify to play New Zealand - none of them have ever beaten NZ - ever - in over 100 years of trying; at least Wales have 3 wins to their credit, though 1953 was a long time ago.
Posted 01:40 17th September 2011
dylster says...
@ makemehappy
ur.....yes you can? If you are the tackler and you are on your feet, and there is no ruck you can pick up the ball no matter where you are standing.
Man these comments get boring. If the Abs won by less than 20 points it would be all 'choke choke choke' comments, and now they win by 70 odd and they are criticized for celebrating tries too much! Lucky McCaw wasnt on the field or there would be another 20 comments about him cheating.
And good to see the standard complaints about the ref.
And to those that are complaining about this game being pointless, has anyone asked Japan if it was pointless? They were stoked to be playing one of the bigger teams, and now they have loads of footage they can go over, so they can learn more about the defensive lines etc.
I do think the plate idea has merit, but not sure how a team progresses - maybe relegation / promotion to the cup?
@ Dylbull (from one Dyl to another..)
yes it does worry me the chopping and changing. I think he should have a core of 12 or so players and just make a few changes each game. But I do have faith in Henry, hes a wise old bugger!
Posted 21:13 16th September 2011
ruckman says...
John Kirwan may not have wanted to give his countrymen a workout - I don't think the French will be so generous, and whilst the NZ backs look pretty sharp, I'm still not convinced about their pack.
Posted 20:49 16th September 2011
Cosmicdiver says...
Eddie Jones said it before the match that this identical Japan team struggled against the USA. Not sure I see the logic in making ten changes to a team that really showed some spirit in the match against France last week. Is Kirwan trying to practice being the next AB coach? Japan had 6 days to recover, so time not really an excuse. Fitness wise I'd say they're pretty close to tier one if not the same. Against France their players actually broke the defensive line. This team lacked the belief and players to do that and I think the coach. He was resigned to a defeat before the game. The tv coverage showed the Japan dressing room with the forwards coach talking and Kirwan walking around looking for his team talk manual. Henry was shown giving the team a list of things he wanted them to work on and not sitting down with his feet up dreaming about the Webb Ellis. Yet again another display of running in countless tries against a non existent defence.
Looks like the Ozzies are the team this year. As a bok supporter it pains me to say this, but Deans is building a well organized unit and their game against Italy, vastly improved the last few years under Mallet, showed they are still improving.
Well done ABs. If the World Cup was about slaughtering below par teams, you'd have won all the World Cups by now. Belief is gained by winning games that test the metal not games where players are clambering to get their name on the scoreboard.
Worst player of the night Japan's no 8 / capt. Never seen a less convincing forward in my life. Every time he got the ball he immediately went to ground, even when he had space. What a joke.
Posted 20:35 16th September 2011
leinster_goy says...
@thatllbeme - i'm not here to sing the praises of the irish national team, who i think are pretty mediocre and over-rated. see my other recent posts to prove this. why not engage with the legitimate arguments i raised instead of changing the subject
Posted 20:05 16th September 2011
LeslieUdwin says...
Not as bizarre as one team scoring 13 tries ! against official international opposition at the WC.
That's a try every 6/7 minutes ! Hard to score more given you only have 80 minutes. And yes..it was the AB vs basically a superb high school team. ( say NZ under 19 s ? ) See no reason for all that jubilation when you tear a high school team to shreds. ( otago herald headline ....not mine )
Posted 19:58 16th September 2011
leinster_goy says...
@porridge time
you seem to have a problem with a lot of my posts. is it because i suggested in another thread that scotland are one of the weaker tier 1 nations? on that note, i would simply ask you to have a quick look at the last five 6N tables. also, your jabs at ireland do not affect any of my arguments, i actually agree with you that they've been pants lately and in any case i'm a lukewarm ireland fan (not so regarding leinster, as you've probably guessed). however, to suggest that ireland are generally as weak as scotland is simply not true on any objective basis, like i said before have a look at the 6N tables to prove this. also have a look at the percentage of scottish national players actually playing in scotland (oh dear...)
i hope that clears things up. i assume you're a bit touchy about scotland in general, or anti-irish, or possibly you just have a massive chip on your shoulder (and we all know the scots like their chips). peace man, and chill
Posted 19:45 16th September 2011
hybrid187 says...
SACanuck... I completely agree.
Posted 19:00 16th September 2011
makemehappy says...
As a welshman I'd like to apologise for the refereeing display. Lots of penalties against an All Black scrum that was struggling so hard with the scrum that they were running forward! And what was that last penalty against the AB's - you can't pick the ball up on the wrong side of the tackle (even if you are the tackler and there is no ruck). Back to school you go boy and don't take drugs that make you think strange things are happening!
Posted 18:51 16th September 2011
Dylbull says...
has graham henry settled on a starting 15 yet? we've seen NZ do this before, chop and change their team around, slaughter the smaller teams and then run into problems when someone really challenges them. Would like to hear from some All Black fans.... anybody worried about this?
Posted 18:44 16th September 2011
porridge_time says...
Have to agree with the idea of a plate competition to be played between third and fourth from each group.
Posted 18:39 16th September 2011
headhunter99 says...
@patmustrard
The other thing a plate would do is to give the smaller countries an opportunity to experience the intensity of test rugby and build a real team ethos. Whilst they all love to play the big boys, quite often they know they'll get stuffed and the shape goes out of their game. a plate would also produce some real open rugby.
I really hope the IRB introduce this for 2015 but we all know how resistant to change they can be.
Posted 18:28 16th September 2011
davodiablo says...
The penalty count was 11 each for the post complaining about Nigel Owens .
@Tri Nats I do believe you owe Trader for his 70 point prediction?
Looking forward to Aus vs Ireland tomorrow , it should be a belter . I expect Irish forwards to to compete but Aus to clean up in open play. Aus by 20 .
A bit worried about Slade chucking 50/50 passes .Hopefully this game will settle his nerves so he can show his true class.
Posted 17:07 16th September 2011
jonesy2 says...
Ramage --- have to agree with you. it is mind boggling that people are complaining about A WORLD CUP! its brilliant for teams like japan and USA and canada and england to be able to play the best players in the world. the japanese skipper said after the match that it was an honour to play to allblacks and that is brilliant for him and his country. its been happening for ages why are you hilariously idiotic people whining about it now. what did you think would happen?
i stopped taking you people seriously ages ago
Posted 16:57 16th September 2011