New Zealand secured their qualification for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after clinching a 73-0 bonus-point victory over Uruguay at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon.

Full-back Daminzie shone for the All Blacks, scoring a try in each half, converting two of his three attempts, and setting up Will Jordan for the first of his two tries.

Richie Mo’unga, who also kicked five conversions, Cam Roigard, Fletcher Newell, Leicester Fainga’anuku (who scored a hat-trick), and Tamaiti Williams also scored.

“I think it was a really enjoyable game, pretty freeflowing. It took us a long time to break down Uruguay to be honest, they defended so well,” said man-of-the-match McKenzie.

“But we managed to put some points on the board so I’m so proud of the lads.

“We’ve got to where we want to be, now we want to get better and move on to the quarters. I’m really excited for the week to come.”

On a night of celebration, veteran lock Sam Whitelock set a new World Cup appearance record of 23, surpassing compatriot Richie McCaw and England’s Jason Leonard.

However, they did lose prop Tyrel Lomax early in the game due to a recurrence of a significant knee injury.

New Zealand must now wait to see if Italy can defeat France on Friday night to determine whether they will win Pool A or finish second.

However, after thrashings of Namibia and Italy, they now have 36 tries and 240 points in their last three matches since their opening pool defeat to France.

Uruguay head coach Esteban Meneses has had a successful World Cup, with one win and two competitive defeats prior to this rout.

“New Zealand are the best team in the world. We played well in the first 20 minutes,” Meneses said.

“They are a very tough team in the contact. I am very proud of Uruguay in the World Cup.”

Sustained pressure on the Uruguay line then saw McKenzie exploit a gap to dart over for his second.

From another five-metre scrum, slick handling sent Jordan in for his second in the corner.

It was past the hour mark and Uruguay were tiring as New Zealand attacked from deep to send Fainga’anuku in for his second.

Uruguay wilted and replacement prop Williams added his name to the try-scorers before Fainga’anuku completed his hat-trick.

In the eighth minute, New Zealand thought they had taken the lead, but scrum-half Roigard lost the ball while grounding it, and Uruguay held on.

The All Blacks were much less crisp and precise than they were in their 14-try thrashing of Italy a week earlier, and they made several handling errors.

Uruguay began with the same vigour that marked their valiant defeats to France and Italy, and they thought they had taken the lead when Manuel Ardao dived over in the corner on 13 minutes.

However, a desperate last-ditch tackle from Anton Lienert-Brown forced the tournament’s top jackler into touch.

New Zealand thought they had scored again when McKenzie went over, but it was called back for a neck-roll in the build-up.

McKenzie was not held back for long, stepping inside a tackler to put New Zealand on the board after 20 minutes.

Mo’unga converted and then ran in a second try, both from five-metre scrums, as the All Blacks machine began to purr.

McKenzie was on fire, collecting his own grubber and flicking it inside to Jordan while narrowly avoiding stepping into touch, allowing the wing to scamper over under the posts.

The All Blacks were lethal from close range, and Roigard dummied and stepped his way over the line from another five-metre scrum to bring up the bonus point.

Mo’unga converted three times as New Zealand led 26-0 at the half.

The game quickly turned into an unstoppable rout in the second half.

Prop replacement Newell went over from close range after breaking a tackle, and wing Fainga’anuku took a huge miss-pass from Jordan to streak in down the flank.

McKenzie then took advantage of a gap in the Uruguay defence to score his second.

Slick handling sent Jordan in for his second in the corner from another five-metre scrum.

Uruguay were tiring as New Zealand attacked from deep, sending Fainga’anuku in for his second goal.

Uruguay has wilted, and a replacement prop is needed. Williams’ name was added to the list of try scorers before Fainga’anuku completed his hat-trick.