New Zealand produced a vastly-improved performance as they put the Sharks to the sword in Durban in their second fixture of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
The All Blacks had been scratchy in their opening clash with the Stormers in Cape Town on Friday, but re-found their cutting edge to surge away from their hosts in Durban in the second half. Dave Rennie had shuffled his side and looked to a number of combinations that had served the New Zealand coach well during the Nations Championship, and would have been pleased to see them impress again with Ruben Love and Jordie Barrett forming a potent partnership.
Of concern, though, for the All Blacks boss was an injury to Damian McKenzie. The full-back fell awkwardly and hurt his ankle in the first half, and though he could continue for long enough to score a try and have another chalked off, McKenzie was replaced before the interval. He faces a race to be fit for the four Tests against the world champion Springboks – the first of which takes place on Saturday week in Johannesburg as a landmark series in South Africa continues.
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Improved New Zealand thrash Sharks – but Damian McKenzie injury cause for concern ahead of Springboks Tests
The Sharks started brightly but ultimately had little answer to a rampant All Blacks, with winger Fehi Fineanganofo scoring two of the tourists’ tries.
Next on deck…
Well, as Nick Hatton mentioned, the Sharks are effectively in pre-season before the start of the Untied Rugby Championship campaign – it is such a strange, and demanding, schedule with which the South African players have to contend.
The All Blacks, meanwhile, are off to altitude. It’s the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday for Dave Rennie’s side as they shift up to the Highveld.
Sharks captain Nick Hatton is next to have his say
“It was an awesome opportunity to play against the All Blacks. Credit to them, it was a proper performance.
“We knew they were a team that wanted to play with a lot of tempo, and if you give them that ball and that tempo, they are deadly with that skillset. That’s on us to look at and get better and slowing the ball down.
“Now it is back to pre-season for another month or so. There is lots to work on, and we’ll come back stronger.”
Jordie Barrett is the man of the match
And says… “It was a pretty greasy surface tonight, a lot of water under foot, so we are pretty proud to keep backing our skills in these conditions. It was tight at half-time, but we managed to gain a bit of ascendancy. We gave the Sharks some easy entries into our half, and on our terms, so we wanted to fix that.
“It’s about minimising those entries. The defence was pretty good tonight but we are going to have to keep getting better as this tour goes on.”
FT: Sharks 0-54 New Zealand
A performance to please Dave Rennie: calm, collected and clinical. That looked more like the Test team we’ll see against the Springboks next Saturday in the first of four massive meetings.
Sharks 0-54 New Zealand, 80 minutes
Into the last minute with the Sharks on the move. Jurenzo Julius threatens to burst into space, the young outside centre stretching the legs for the first time today, really. Where’s his offload gone? Not to hand, alas. Knocked on, and that may well do us.
Sharks 0-54 New Zealand, 78 minutes
Into the last knockings. This has felt more like the All Blacks of old, admittedly against overmatched opposition.
TRY! Sharks 0-54 NEW ZEALAND (Sam Darry, 77 minutes)
The All Blacks raise the bat! A stroke of fortune for Sam Darry, finding a hole that looks to have been excavated by the presence of referee Matthew Carley. Ma’a Nonu is not best pleased, but the official is happy for the try to stand, taking New Zealand past 50.
