What's happening
New Zealand - Tonga

October 24 Match

WHAT'S HAPPENING? (posted 24nd October 2003)
The pre-game ceremonial haka from the Kiwis - led by Carlos Spencer was pretty impressive last night at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and when the Tongans answered the Haka with their own Sipi Tau the air was electric (and that wasn't just because of the impending storm either! :) The spectators all anticipated a great match to follow.

Unfortunately, only one of the teams on the paddock had a great match. The All Bads (and if they don't stop competing like this I might have to think up a new nick for them) totally annihilated the Tongans - 13 tries to one. Ugh! It was just on seven minutes into the game when the Kiwis unleashed for the first time scoring a push over try awarded to Daniel Braid who was the lucky sod at the bottom of the Kiwi maul. Leon MacDonald, who plays for the Crusaders back in NZ, converted the first of many many tries. His team mate from the Crusaders, Daniel Carter bunged on the next try. Corey Flynn, Caleb Ralph, and Carlos Spencer also got in on the first half try scoring blitz and before Tonga could say 'What the &*#& was that' it was half time and the score was 35-0.

The Tongans might have felt like heading to the bar for a drink or twenty about then, but they came back out for another forty minutes of pain in the pouring rain. Within the first minute of the second half, Caled Ralph went over for his second try - scoring right under the posts making the conversion kick easy peasy for Leon MacDonald - not that he needs much help from the players in this regard. A couple of minutes later the Kiwis almost scored again when a rolling maul from a 5 metre lineout saw Corey Flynn very close to the line - but he couldn't quite get the all over. Not to worry, that built like brick boy prop Kees Meeuws, who plays for the Dorkland Blues..er I mean Auckland Blues :), grabbed the ball in the next play and plonked the ball down for a try in the rolling maul. You know who converted the kick again and the score was 49-0.

The going was pretty tough for Tonga - they didn't have much ball possession - 25% - and were resorting to collapsing scrums and killing the ball and what not. The result was that in the fiftieth minute the ref awarded New Zealand a penalty try occuring when Tonga collapsed the scrum during a NZ push over try attempt. The two points were added of course, and 56-0 was on the scoreboard.

A moment of joy for the Tongans - maybe that should read THE moment of joy for the Tongans came in the 54th minute when Pierre Hola intercepted a pass and scored under the posts! The crowd went wild! About time the Tongans were on the board. Hola's try was converted for a 56-7 score line.

Yep well, that was about it for the Tongans. Mils Muliana barrelled past at least 7 defenders to score under the posts shortly afterwards. Leon MacDonald almost scored a great try when he chased a Carlos Spencer kick up field to the corner, but was denied the five pointer when he knocked the ball forward. Muliaina went over for a try, and meanwhile Tonga's fullback Sila Va’enuku was sent to the bin for ten for repeated infringements at the breakdown of play for the Tongans. *sigh* nothing was going to go right for them tonight. To rub salt into the sounds Doug Howlett scored a couple of very quick tries in the 75th and 76th minutes of the game which MacDonald obligingly potted for the conversions.

When the full time whistle blew the NZers had scored 13 tries to Tongas 1, the score 91-7 with New Zealand notching up the highest tally of the tournament so far, just one ahead of Australia's score against Romania the week before. While the Kiwis outclassed, outplayed, and outran the Tongans, they still made a number of handling errors. Whether the ball was slippery due to the rain, or whether a certain number of errors is to be expected given that they had the ball most of the time - I don't know. And to be quite candid, it matters stuff all, they were at no stage in danger of losing once the game kicked off. The win takes them to 15 points on the ladder of Pool D - a country mile ahead of everyone else in Pool D. NZ next meet Wales in Sydney on November 2.