A day of courage under fire

They went out to do battle for New Zealand and both, in their own way, won a kind of victory.

In Las Vegas, David Tua, out-boxed, out-thought and probably outclassed, found the courage to remain standing after being hit 300 times, still swinging as he strove unsuccessfully at the bell for one of the biggest titles in world sport.

For 10 1/2 of the 12 rounds, he battled the pain of a blow to the body which aggravated a six-week-old rib cartilage injury.

In Paris, the All Blacks did more than win a test, 39-26, against France. They showed the kind of grit the country had hoped for against the French, the same team that ended the All Blacks' chances at the World Cup last year and sent the nation into angry recriminations.

Twice before on Armistice Day, the All Blacks have fallen in tests - in 1987 and 1995.

But yesterday, they triumphed, surviving a ferocious physical assault then letting loose with moments of decisive running to show that this team just might have the makings of something better.

In Las Vegas, the 1.77m (5ft 10in) Tua seemed dwarfed by the heavyweight champion of the world, Lennox Lewis, who at 1.95m (6ft 5in) had a huge reach advantage.

As New Zealand and Samoa stopped to watch, the man from Mangere fought 12 long rounds as if the weight of the Pacific were on his arms.

But he showed the courage to keep going forward, to keep trying to swing one more punch that might just connect and deliver the heavyweight belt.

For the crowd at the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino, it had been all Tua until the bell rang. Samoan drums boomed around the crowd, which included Magic Johnson, Harrison Ford, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.

But sometimes courage is not enough. After the bell, it was nearly all Lewis as he outboxed Tua, keeping him at bay with his outstretched left hand and seeming to hit the smaller man at will.

The champion landed 300 punches - an extraordinary 213 of them jabs - to 110 for Tua.

The crowd, which had come expecting to see a brawl, booed at times. What they saw was a clinical execution by Lewis.

Afterwards, Lewis said: "If you come to war you have to bring your whole arsenal, not just a left hook and a haircut."

Tua showed grace in defeat. "I'll make no excuses," he said after the fight, his left eye partially closed by repeated blows.

"I did the best I could. I give much respect to Lennox Lewis. He is a great champion.

"After the second round when I was hurt, I was restricted in my movement. But there are no excuses."

The atmosphere in Apia, Samoa's capital, was subdued last night. In Manukau, Tua's New Zealand home since age 10, people spoke of their disappointment but also of their pride that he had even got a shot at the world title.

Tua did not forget the All Blacks, sending them a message of support.

Before the test, the All Blacks mingled with thousands of Parisians and tourists for Armistice Day commemorations in Paris.

While those left out of the test squad went with management to the official ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, the All Blacks walked from their nearby hotel to the Champs Elysees, where the military paraded.

"We drew a lot of inspiration from the day and our visit to the gravesites earlier," said captain Todd Blackadder.

"I think we still have a bit to work on but I think we made some real improvement in a few areas that were possibly seen as our weakness.

"I am really pleased with our forward pack, I thought they played bloody well."

The battle was fierce. Both Jonah Lomu and Norm Maxwell went to hospital after the game. Lomu had x-rays on a sore cheekbone but was cleared of any structural damage, and Maxwell had a mean gash round his right eye examined and repaired after a collision with Daryl Gibson. All three are expected to be fit for Sunday's second test in Marseilles.

At times, the fight was not just with the French. Both sides struggled to understand some of the calls by Australian referee Wayne Erickson.

Both teams scored a try in the second half which simply should never have been awarded, and French captain Fabien Pelous and Andrew Mehrtens regularly queried Erickson's calls.

But coach Wayne Smith lauded the courage his side showed throughout and the way they stood up to the physical barrage from the French.

"I think we fronted physically today. A lot of people said that we wouldn't have the muscle, we didn't have the commitment, but we fronted physically."

There had been a tremendous amount of pressure on the All Blacks to stop a two-game losing run. They had shown that concern with a jittery start on the big occasion."The physical contest was a tough one as you would expect on Armistice Day in France, but we faced up to it and came out on top."

The All Blacks desperately wanted to win the Dave Gallaher Cup against the French after the team visited the grave of Gallaher, the captain of the 1905 team, who was killed at Passchendaele in the First World War.

As people across the world remembered the day the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918, the All Blacks drew on the memories to prepare.

Herald Online feature: the Tua fight

Herald Online feature: Rugby Tour