TOKYO (AP) The All Blacks leave Asia for Europe having ticked off all the boxes they wanted to in beating Japan 54-6 in the rain on Saturday.
A handsome win. Check.
Good blowouts for previously injured stars Richie McCaw and Dan Carter. Check.
Worthy debuts for lock Dominic Bird and winger Frank Halai. Check.
Debuts off the bench for prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen and flanker Luke Whitelock. Check.
Making the money match worth it to the Japanese. Check.
The All Blacks scored eight unanswered tries, four in each half. But Japan, especially in the set-pieces, made a contest of its first official home test against New Zealand. It took try-saving tackles by McCaw and Steven Luatua at the very end and a video review to stop Japan's streak of scoring a try in 55 consecutive tests since 2008.
Captain McCaw and Carter appeared together for the first time in two months. McCaw played the entire match at No. 8 while Carter was replaced near the hour, having made all five of his goalkicks and impressed coach Steve Hansen, who suggested Carter will start against France in Paris next weekend.
The match was deservedly poised when the All Blacks led only 7-6, and a sellout crowd at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium was rousing the Japanese, until the 26th minute when the New Zealanders scored three tries in five minutes to flanker Sam Cane, center Ben Smith and McCaw.
Despite the result being decided by halftime at 28-6, the All Blacks scored four more tries, including the first for lock Jeremy Thrush and Halai. Winger Charles Piutau scored the first and last tries, also his first ones for the team. No injuries were reported after the All Blacks' 11th straight win this year.
"It was a very good game for us in a number of ways," Hansen said. "We got up mentally for an opposition that we knew, with the greatest of respect, we were always going to beat."
Japan spent the last five minutes on attack in search of a consolation try, and the pressure caused Cane to be sin-binned for not releasing the ball in a ruck. Japan couldn't score, but the effort was praised by stand-in coach Steve Wisemantel, who will also lead the team to Europe in the absence of Eddie Jones, who was recovering from a stroke.
"The first 20 minutes were very good and we did very well," Wisemantel said. "The next step is to maintain that against that type of team for 50 minutes to keep the pressure on."
___
New Zealand 54 (Charles Piutau 2, Sam Cane, Ben Smith, Richie McCaw, Jeremy Thrush, Frank Halai, Beauden Barrett tries; Dan Carter 5 conversions; Barrett 2 conversions), Japan 6 (Ayumu Goromaru 2 penalties). HT: 28-6