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CARDIFF - The All Blacks completed a clean sweep of their European rugby tour in blinding, if controversial, style by sweeping aside Wales 45-10 here today.
In an extraordinary break from protocol, the New Zealand players didn't perform their customary haka before kickoff, having done so in the
dressing rooms before the teams emerged onto Millennium St adium.
Their action, in response to what they deemed an unreasonable request from the Welsh Rugby Union that the Wales national anthem be the final act before kickoff, was greeted with boos from sections of the 74,000-strong crowd and removed some lustre from another accomplished display.
The All Blacks scored five tries to one, three of them to winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and the last one a penalty try, to fend off a passionate Welsh challenge and prevail by a somewhat flattering margin.
Another cloud over the performance was two yellow cards awarded to New Zealand players, including captain Richie McCaw midway through the second half for persistent offending, the first sinbinning of the ball-scavenging flanker's 48-test career.
McCaw is the fourth All Blacks captain to suffer the fate, following Anton Oliver (2001), Reuben Thorne (2003) and Tana Umaga (2005).
The other offender in the dying minutes was reserve hooker Andrew Hore.
It didn't stop the All Blacks posting their fifth-biggest winning margin over Wales -- an emphatic sign-off to a tour that has seen them outclass France twice and England in the tour opener.
It was a better spectacle than last week's 23-11 defeat of France at Paris, with the Welsh prepared to use the ball but lacking the finishing prowess of the tourists.
The All Blacks were adept at slowing down or turning over Welsh possession while Carter's booming punt meant the hosts spent little time in the attacking zone until the result was beyond doubt.
The New Zealand scrum was again dominant, flanker Jerry Collins was the meanest tackler in another aggressive defensive effort while Sivivatu was the sharpest of a back division that looked to counter whenever they could on a surface which wasn't as heavy as many had feared.
Sivivatu crossed for two tries late in the first half pushing them out to a 28-3 advantage that was never going to be headed.
First five-eighth Daniel Carter kicked 16 points before he was replaced early in the second spell, giving him 72 points for the tour.
It was the All Blacks' 19th consecutive defeat of Wales, dating back to 1953.
The crowd was still abuzz about the missing haka when second five-eighth Luke McAlister strolled over for the first try in the fourth minute off an inside pass from Sivivatu.
A conversion and three penalties from Carter -- the third from halfway -- pushed the visitors to a 16-0 lead before 20 minutes had elapsed.
New Zealand's play then became untidy, allowing the Welsh some possession and a glimpse of some of the continuity play for which they are now renowned.
However, aside from a couple of half breaks they largely met a black wall of defensive resistance, leaving a penalty to first five-eighth and captain Stephen Jones as their only reward for a sustained period on attack.
Sivivatu's double came within six minutes leading up to halftime to effectively seal the outcome.
McAlister, who moments earlier kicked away what would have been an easy penalty for Carter, appeared to knock on the lead up to Sivivatu's first. However, McAlister did little wrong in the second, with he and Smith creating the space for Sivivatu to cut back on the inside.
A Carter penalty made it 31-3 just after halftime as Wales launched their best period of the game, forcing the All Blacks onto desperate acts on defence.
English referee Dave Pearson, who had warned McCaw about overstepping the laws at the breakdown in the first half, brandished his card and the hosts responded when Wales flanker Martyn Williams was driven over.
Sivivatu snared his third try after replacement first five-eight Nick Evans scythed through with his first touch of the ball while a powerful surge from winger Rico Gear earned the penalty try as Welsh players killed the ball on the tryline.
The sight of Sivivatu limping off at that point was the only worry for the All Blacks management team, basking in another thumping European triumph.
- NZPA
