New Zealand ran in 14 tries to thrash Italy 96-17 for a bonus-point victory in the Rugby World Cup at the OL Stadium in Lyon.
In the 14-try Pool, captain Ardie Savea, winger Will Jordan, and replacement hooker Dane Coles each scored two. A rout in Lyon kept New Zealand on track to play Ireland in the quarterfinals, which is likely to happen. Sam Whitelock earned a record 149th cap for New Zealand.
The other tries were scored by Mark Telea, Brodie Retallick, Dalton Papali’i, Damian McKenzie, and Anton Lienert-Brown. Richie Mo’unga kicked nine conversions, and Damian McKenzie kicked four more.
“Everyone on our team is talented, and when we played free rugby, that’s how I want my boys to play. We worked hard this week, and tonight we got what we worked for.
Lost the race The wingers Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane helped Italy cross the whitewash twice, but this was a one-way demolition job.
“It did not go our way, sometimes you have to focus on your basics and we did not perform in the scrums or line-outs,” said Italy captain Michele Lamaro. “It is a big lesson for us.”
After beating Italy 101-3 in the 1999 World Cup, this was New Zealand’s second biggest win over Italy.
New Zealand’s first Pool A game was a loss to France. Since then, they’ve won against Namibia and Italy, giving them 25 tries and 167 points. Next week, they’ll play Uruguay.
From the first time each team had the ball, it was clear which way the wind was blowing.
Before they were turned over, Italy crept forward.
New Zealand ate up yards, held Italy back, and took the lead when Jordie Barrett’s beautiful cross-field kick found Jordan in the corner, who dove over with acrobatics.
Full-back for Italy Tommaso Allan scored a penalty to cut the lead in half, but the All Blacks quickly put an end to any suspense.
First, their pack drove over a maul from close range, and Smith touched down at the back. Then, they went almost the whole length of the pitch to score one of the best tries of the tournament.
Savea broke through the defensive line thanks to a smart pass from Retallick. He was caught, but New Zealand kept the ball against a scrambling defence, and Beauden Barrett passed it to Telea, who spun, stepped and twisted his way past four defenders to score.
After New Zealand kicked another penalty to the corner, Savea scored with a simple line-out move against a defence that couldn’t stop him.
Just 22 minutes into the game, New Zealand already had the try bonus, while Italy was in shock and got punished for every mistake and missed tackle.
It was already looking like a New Zealand performance for the ages. Up front, they were in charge, and in the middle, they were amazing.
All 15 previous Tests between the two teams were won by New Zealand by an average of more than 50 points.
Everything was too easy, and they were almost sure of that by halftime.
New Zealand kicked another penalty to the corner, and Smith scored from a catch-and-drive from the line-up.
The pressure was constant, and fly-half Mo’unga sent Jordie Barrett through with a perfectly timed pass. As usual, Smith was on his shoulder, and he finished his hat-trick under the posts.
Even though the game was over after 40 minutes, the All Blacks kept playing, kicking penalties to touch until Savea crashed over for a seventh try to end the first half 49-3.
After the break, Italy showed some pride, and Capuozzo went over in the corner after a great move from a lineout.
But the rout kept going.
Scott Barrett charged down a clearance, and Retallick was there to burrow over for New Zealand’s answer.
Italy lost many line-outs, and flanker Papali’i stormed over from one of them.
Italy didn’t know how to get a line-out, so New Zealand showed them and sent Coles down the blindside to score.
Italy lost all hope, and it seemed like New Zealand scored every time they had the ball.
Mo’unga was replaced by McKenzie, who scored right away. Jordan and Coles scored again soon after, and Lienert-Brown scored the last point for the All Blacks.
There was still time, though, for Monty Ioane to score for a bruised and battered Italy team.
Photo by EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
