Player ratings: Blacked out
Take a bow New Zealand. Not only are you World Cup champions, Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup holders, but you set the bar so high few teams will ever reach it.
The All Blacks won 33-10, but by half-time the game was over as a contest (23-0) and after the break the Kiwis went into cruise control.
The pace of the New Zealand game is simply too much for any Northern Hemisphere team to cope with, even in those soft underfoot conditions.
We will deal with Andrew Hore's disgraceful behaviour when we rate him, but all the other players should take a bow for making rugby such a joy to watch.
Jan de Koning rates the New Zealand players!
15 Israel Dagg:
Did so well on the counter, often stepping two or three players. One of those counters resulted in Liam Messam's try, the first of the match, in the 26th minute. And he also didn't miss any tackles.
9/10
14 Cory Jane:
Combined very well with Dagg at the back, but spoilt his day at the office with a professional foul that earned him 10 minutes in the sin bin.
6/10
13 Conrad Smith:
Great take in the air when chasing a Cruden kick. He was also the epitome of the worst of All Black rugby, blatantly conceding a penalty with a professional foul to stop what looked a very good try-scoring opportunity. Still, eight tackles without slipping any.
7/10
12 Ma'a Nonu:
Conceded an early penalty at the tackle and really just another big brute who lacks the subtleties that is required in the midfield. But he works for New Zealand and often attracts more than one defender – which opens up space elsewhere.
6/10
11 Julian Savea:
Early knock-on when he failed to control a high kick, but clocked up more than double the metres of any of his teammates. He is going to be around for a long time if he stays injury free.
7/10
10 Aaron Cruden:
Launched a pin-point bomb that eventually resulted in a penalty and his team's first points. Some great goal-kicking as well. He may have slipped a couple of tackles, but was a masterclass.
8/10
9 Aaron Smith:
He is no, without doubt, New Zealand's premier scrumhalf and keeps the defences guessing with the manner in which he varies his play. Also did not slip any tackles.
7/10
8 Kieran Read:
Missed an extraordinary number of tackles, six, which is surprising – given the standards he normally sets and the Kiwis' dominance in this match. He still made nine tackles and stole a line-out.
6/10
7 Richie McCaw (captain):
Made a real nuisance of himself at the breakdown, as usual, and won his quota of turnovers. However, it was on defence where he was most impressive, with the highest tackle count in the match, despite slipping a few.
8/10
6 Liam Messam:
One of only three All Blacks who produced a tackle count of double figures, made plenty of metres with the ball in hand and scored a sublime try – because he worked so hard to get up in support, which is the job of a loose forward.
8/10
5 Sam Whitelock:
Made plenty of tackles, but given New Zealand's dominance, his ball in hand stats are very disappointing.
5/10
4 Luke Romano:
Took four line-outs and made four tackles. Really ordinary stats those.
5/10
3 Owen Franks:
His work on defence and powerful scrumming – the basics of a prop – is what makes him such a great player.
7/10
2 Andrew Hore:
Disgusting cheap shot on Bradley Davies from behind in the first minute, which saw the lock laid out cold and forced to leave the field. Anything else this thug did was irrelevant.
0/10
1 Tony Woodcock:
He really has reached his sell-by date. While he played a role in the All Blacks' scrum dominance, he makes virtually no contribution in other aspects of the game.
5/10
Replacements:
16 Dane Coles (on for Hore, 54th min):
He made all his tackles and produced a couple of strong runs.
6/10
17 Wyatt Crockett (on for Woodcock, 50th min):
Made six tackles and slipped just one, while he stood his ground in the scrums.
6/10
8. Charlie Faumuina (on for Franks, 60th min):
Was very quiet and made no real impact.
5/10
19 Brodie Retallick (on for Romano, 50th min):
Worked very hard on defence, with six tackles in his half-hour stint. Slipped just one.
6/10
20 Victor Vito (on for Messam, 70th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
21 Piri Weepu (on for Aaron Smith, 50th min):
He has really dropped off the pace being set by Smith.
5/10
22 Beauden Barrett (on for Cruden, 68th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Ben Smith (on for Savea, 76th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
