New Zealand Takes Tri-Nations Stranglehold
The New Zealand All Blacks moved one step closer to Tri-Nations Cup supremacy with another victory over the weekend against the South African Springboks. The All Blacks beat the Springboks 31-17 in the second match-up of the tournament to give them a commanding lead in the table and put the pressure on the defending Tri-Nations champions heading into next week’s match in Australia.
Recap
The All Blacks got tries from four different players to defeat a Springboks squad that once again looked inept against the quick New Zealand offence. The first half was marked with three All Blacks tries that seemed to put the game away early, leaving the South Africans to sit back and watch as their hopes of a Tri-Nations Championship were made even more difficult.
New Zealand started off quickly as the always shifty Ma’a Nonu ran in for a try in the 7th minute, to make the score 5-0. It did not take long to add to the tally as Mils Muliaina crossed the try line again just four minutes later. The All Blacks kept the pressure on with a Dan Carter penalty that pushed the lead to 13-0 just 30 minutes in. Danie Rossouw managed a try for the Springboks in the 36th minute, and Morne Steyn notched the conversion to close the lead to 13-7 at half.
The Springboks looked to have woken up coming out of the half with a Steyn penalty only 2 minutes after the break. The success would be short lived, however, as the newly inserted Ranger scored his first try as an All Black in his first cap. Piri Weepu then added insult to injury as he hammered a penalty home in the 51st minutes, making it 21-10. Israel Dagg was subbed in at the 63rd minute and only took two minutes to get acquainted with the opposition before tallying a try, followed by a Carter conversion. Carter continued his strong play, hitting a penalty in the 69th minute, giving New Zealand a 31-10 lead. The Springboks tried to push back in the 74th minute with a Schalk Burger try and another Steyn conversion. However, the push was far too late as time ran down on a 31-17 All Black win.
Table
With another four try performance, New Zealand earned the bonus points, and remains first in the table with 10 points. Australia sits second, with no points, but has yet to play a game. While the South African side sits in last place, with zero points in two games, and a point differential of minus-34.
What the Win Means
With another loss, the Springboks find themselves in very dire straits. They sit 10 points back of the All Blacks with only three games left in the tournament and one of them is away from home. The Springboks are going to have to run the table in order to have a chance at winning the cup.
For the All Blacks, the victory moves them ever closer to a fifth Tri-Nations Cup Championship in six years. Picking up two wins, both of which came with bonus points, mean they will be very difficult to catch. If the All Blacks are able to get four points from their game in Australia, the Springboks will have to win every game remaining on their schedule, getting bonus points in all of them. The All Blacks could not have asked for a better start to their 2010 campaign.
Australia still has yet to play a game and this New Zealand victory puts a great deal of pressure on the Wallabies side. With two home games coming up, the Aussies are going to have to manage victories in both if they hope to challenge for this year’s title.
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