Tracey Nelson is the stats guru for haka.co.nz and will provide statistical analysis of the All Blacks' matches during their end of year tour.
The All Blacks overcame a valiant Wales 37-25 to win their third Grand Slam tour under coach Graham Henry, and recorded New Zealand's fourth Grand Slam overall to equal South Africa's tally.
Dan Carter became the highest test points scorer in rugby history, a 48m penalty kick at goal in
the eighth minute of the game taking him past Jonny Wilkinson's previous record.
While it wasn't a vintage night with the boot for Carter (only succeeding with 55% of his attempts) he still finished the night with 12 points to take him to 1188 test points. Carter has reached this milestone in just 79 games, scoring an average of 15 points per test.
In achieving this Grand Slam the All Blacks scored 150 points at an average of 38 points per game, conceding just 62 points against at an average of 16 per game.
They ran in 15 tries to the four their opposition scored - Hosea Gear was top try scorer with four, followed by Mils Muliaina and Kieran Read with three apiece. Overall the backs scored nine of the tries on tour, while six were scored by forwards.
As per usual it was Captain Fantastic to the fore this weekend as the leading tackler with 14 tackles and six assists, and notably he called himself twice in the lineout when the All Blacks were down to 14 men early in the second half following Daniel Braid's sin binning.
Brad Thorn playing in his 50th test just managed to eclipse McCaw in breakdown arrivals, managing 32 to his captain's 31. Top ball runner was Jerome Kaino with 13 carries, followed by McCaw and Keven Mealamu with seven each.
The All Blacks made five linebreaks in this game, and four of them resulted in tries. Notably three of the five were made by forwards, the best of which resulted in a try to prop John Afoa. If there is one thing this tour has demonstrated it's the superior mobility and ball skills of the All Black tight forwards compared with their northern counterparts.
The All Blacks conceded 16 penalties and one free kick, while Wales were only penalised eight times. Knock-ons made up half of the All Black's 14 turnovers, but with just eight missed tackles in this test match the All Blacks never looked in danger of losing the game.
Heroes: This week it's impossible to go past Jerome Kaino. Top ball carrier, 18 breakdown arrivals, eight tackles and three assists, one line break and one lineout take made him the most valuable forward on the park. McCaw maintained his usual high standards, while yet again Conrad Smith excelled in making 11 tackles and 14 breakdown arrivals.
Villains: Quite how Andy Powell wasn't penalised for his high shot on McCaw in the last minutes of the game I'll never know, and the inconsistent nature of referee Alan Lewis' calls and a rather trigger-happy reaction to sin-bin Daniel Braid make him top candidate here.
The All Blacks finish this year with record of 13 wins from 14 games, and continue their record of not having lost a game against one of the home unions on an end of year tour since 2002, when they lost to England 28-31.
Full game stats can be found at haka.co.nz
- Herald online
