Ceremonies over, the field was cleared and the teams entered the fray for the traditional anthems. Tonga then gave us their haka, which was responded to by the All Blacks in customary style; Ali Williams seemingly unable to stop his feet moving in the general direction of the Tongans. We were then left with a strange spectacle; 2 sides, whipped into the frenzy of battle by their tribal war cries, forced to wait for fully 2 minutes while the host broadcaster went to an ad break. The fervour which had built in the crowd diminished as referee calmly held up proceedings (the notoriously ad-hungry ITV in the UK, who had given us 7 ad breaks in the hour leading up didn't even bother going to the break) and it was a relatively benign beginning which followed given everything that had gone before.
New Zealand started, I thought, nervously, with Carter's boot not operating to its full efficiency. That said, it was a short-lived edginess, and when they exploded into life (to continue the firework analogy) they certainly burned the fingers of the Tongans. After an early Carter penalty, the All Blacks started throwing the ball around with gay abandon. It was almost too carefree at times, and the back line frequently resembled a disorganised mess, but with Sonny Bill Williams at his majestic offloading best, showing the sleight of hand of David Copperfield, with Kahui and Dagg looking extremely sharp at the back, and with Carter playing flat and looking to pass, the tries started coming. There were 4 in the first half (2 each for Dagg and Kahui) and three of these were converted by Carter, Tonga closed the half with a penalty of their own, and a score of 29-3 was illuminated around Eden Park as the sides wandered into the dressing rooms for half time.
As the sides re-took the field, most of the talk was about how many points it would be for the All Blacks. Tonga had shown very little, and the All Blacks cut through them at will in the latter stages of the first half. However, there was too much individuality in the early stages of the second half. Isolated players gave away penalties, the game was made too complicated, and how Toeava didn't score when sent clear was beyond me. Toeava also had a close run thing in the corner, but he should be re-christened Toeintouch, as the TMO denied a try thanks to the extra coat of whitewash that had been put on the line (or was it where Jonah had polished his shoes earlier?)
20 minutes of uninspiring rugby from both sides were finally broken when Weepu, who had replaced the largely ineffective and shaky Cowan, broke and fed Kahui, who toe-poked it through, collected and fed Kaino who went over. Carter, uncharacteristically, hit the post with an eminently gettable kick and the score was 34-3. Tonga had more than held their own in the second half though and they scored a deserved try when Taumalolo barged his way over from close to make it 34-10 and effectively give them the 2nd half lead.
Much discussion has surrounded the choice at centre for the All Blacks, and with Sonny delighting the crowds with his offloads (and the ladies with his bare torso after a jersey malfunction) and with Conrad Smith chomping at the bit having been rested/left out (delete as appropriate) Ma'a Nonu decided to muddy the waters with the final try of the game after a Colin Slade pass. I still feel Smith is one of the best in the world, and makes a great pair with Nonu. So, given Williams's game, with the exception of the offloads, was not the greatest, Henry will probably revert to type for Game 2.
Final Score New Zealand 41 Tonga 10
The All Blacks have now played 21 Pool games in Rugby World Cups, and won all 21. The only Nation never to have lost a Pool game. They still haven't let a side get within 20 points of them in a home World Cup tie. The stats are impressive, substantially more impressive than the second half performance it must be said.
It was a true 'fireworks' performance. A brief pause after the touchpaper was lit before they exploded into life with 4 quick and incisive first half tries. However, once the spectacle of those 4 tries was over, there was a definite anti-climactic end with their damp squib of a second half performance.
I also draw a parallel with the recent Tri Nations, where the first 2 games saw proper New Zealand performances, while the last 2 games saw them lose with rarely more than a whimper.
At times they looked like the probable world-beaters they will end up being, at times the pretenders to the throne will have been licking their lips while watching.
What of the coach? Graham Henry was his usual grumpy self afterwards. Understandably so given the poor end to the day. He saw the 8 minute siege laid on their line by Tonga, which included a 4 minute scrum, as dreadfully dull. I disagree. It's part of the game, and the New Zealand front row failed to deal with the pressure exerted on them by a substantial, but not necessarily technically gifted, Tongan scrum. Henry sees what he wants to in games, but he came across like a kid who had enjoyed his fun and was now taking his bat and ball home. In fact, that's unfair to the kids. He is like the competitive Dad who loves playing games while he beats his kids, but as soon as they grow old enough to gain the upper hand, cries off playing as they are just 'silly games'. Henry must be worried after performances against Australia and Tonga which, far from reassuring, have actually served to show sides where the All Blacks are beatable.
Kahui and Dagg enhanced their reputations, and there are some (Carter & McCaw) who are indelibly inked on the team sheet. Many All Blacks will be sweating after stuttering performances though.
TV Rugby
For those of you not in the UK, a brief explanation. The 6 Nations is shown on the BBC. Live club Rugby is shown on Sky. Both of these channels provide excellent (and I'm highly critical when it comes to TV sport so this is high praise indeed) coverage year after year. Every 4 years, the Rugby World Cup comes around, and ITV, for some unknown reason, throw their hat into the ring. The studio host, Steve Rider, is a consummate professional, and the experts, who would appear to be Dallaglio, Fitzpatrick, Pienaar and Lynagh, certainly know what they are talking about. The frequent adverts and the inexperienced and lightweight commentary pairing of Gillingham and Gomarsall certainly added little value to this first game. I hope this doesn't become a recurring theme of these early reports, but if it does, I can only apologise. Take solace that, from the 28th September onwards, you won't be hearing me complaining :-)
And Finally...
My opening prediction of a 70 point New Zealand win was well out on the face of it, with just 31 points being the actual winning margin. Had Toeava scored in the corner early in the second half, things could have been different, but I currently lie well adrift of the leaders in the Prediction game at www.sportguru.co.uk. It's not too late to join by the way, and you'll only be 2.5 points adrift if you do (League name The Egg Chasers password prosflea).
What does tonight hold in store? A 2am start for the Scots against Romania, Fiji vs Namibia at 0430, France vs Japan at 0700 and England vs Argentina at 0930. It would appear I will be sleeping on the sofa from 0345 to 0700 (with the TV on of course). I may try to do the whole marathon with a few hours sleep to start, we'll see.
There's so much rugby on this weekend it's untrue. Leaving aside the 7 games on at the RWC, Harlequins vs Northampton and Bath vs Saracens from England, 2 Currie Cup games on Sky, Wasps vs Leicester on ESPN on Sunday as well as Toulouse vs Racing Metro from France. I make that 13 games, plus the inevitable highlight shows....
Taniela Moa, the Tongan scrum half, is 6 feet tall and 102kg.. according to the official stats. He certainly looked even bigger than that, but his effort from start to finish was exemplary. He saw off Jimmy Cowan, who did untold damage to his future in the tournament.
Who'd be a hooker? Leaving aside the obvious downside of having 14 colossal humans surrounding you in every scrum, you have to pick yourself up and hit your moving targets in the lineout. If that's not enough, in Wellington tomorrow for Wales vs South Africa, the wind can frequently reach 37mph, which makes that target even harder to hit.
Reports of punches thrown at the Australian training session. A fully opposed session (that means with full tackling for the uninitiated) ended with a few guys getting a little hot under the collar. A 30 man squad with only 22 places in the matchday squad, I suppose it's natural to a degree.
At times during the opening game, I felt I was watching a sort of Harlem Globetrotters performance from New Zealand. Backs and forwards in each other's way, glory passes being looked for, points trying to be proved. It was most unlike the well-oiled All Blacks machine I'm used to seeing. Too many riches at their disposal? Does Henry really know his best side?
England are criticised for their occasional selection of non-English born players (Tuilagi being the latest example) but they aren't the only ones as we know. 6 of the players in the first game were Auckland born - 3 on each side. It seems to be a bizarre mix when you look at New Zealand squads. You have the Samoan and Tongan exiles who play for the All Blacks, while New Zealanders seem to head in the other direction to fill the gap created. I hereby officially give up understanding the rules as to International qualification.
Finally a Maori elder is hoping Argentina defeat England after England "disrespected the New Zealanders by wearing 'their' black colours in their home country". Please. This is frankly ridiculous now. I give as evidence, the All Blacks away jersey for 2012:
How dare the New Zealanders disrespect 'our' white jersey?
I rest my case.
That's enough for now. Prepare to be bombarded with my thoughts tomorrow and Sunday. Pass on the link to your friends. Follow me on Twitter for comment during the games themselves @theeggchaser
