Seven-try All Blacks thrash Barbarians

Barbarians 19 New Zealand 47

New Zealand ran in seven tries to end their European tour with a comfortable victory over the Barbarians in the Gartmore Challenge at Twickenham this afternoon.

Flanker Marty Holah got the afternoon under way with a try inside five minutes, winger Rico Gear scored twice while Ma’a Nonu, Casey Laulala, Jermoe Keino and Piri Weepu all touched down as the All Blacks coasted to victory.

The Barbarians managed three tries, through forwards Xavier Rush, Andrea Lo Cicero and Albert van den Berg, but never stood any chance of matching the feats of the 1973 side which famously beat New Zealand in Cardiff.

Everything about the game was a long way from that historic fixture at the Arms Park 31 years ago when the All Blacks, at full strength, took on a Barbarians side featuring 12 members of the British and Irish Lions squad which had won the Test series against New Zealand just 18 months earlier.

That electrifying match, illuminated by Gareth Edwards’ try and won by the Barbarians 23-11, was played with a Test-match intensity.

Today’s meeting had an altogether different feel about it. In the scrum-half jersey worn 31 years ago by Edwards started a New Zealander, Justin Marshall, who captained the Barbarians against his fellow countrymen after being rested from the All Blacks tour.

Outside him, Australian Matt Giteau started at fly-half as one of nine Wallabies in a side which also included South African blindside flanker, Schalk Burger, the world player of the year.

The All Blacks featured only two of the side which started last weekend’s emphatic Test victory over France in Paris as Graham Henry gave his development side a run.

An exhibition of southern hemisphere rugby at its best it was not. Both sides were committed to playing attacking, running rugby in the best traditions of a Barbarians fixture but the execution was riddled with mistakes.

The Barbarians were effective when they kept the ball tight and earned hard yards through the forwards but for all Giteau’s invention they lacked an instinctive cutting edge.

Granted, it was a new-look All Blacks side too but they profited from Barbarians mistakes from the moment Mat Rogers’ kick-off flew straight out.

Inside five minutes Holah, the 32-cap openside making his first start of the tour, charged over straight from a lineout.

The Barbarians’ response was to get a roll on from a lineout 10 metres out and their impressive forward pack, featuring the likes of Burger and Phil Waugh, pushed Rush over for the score.

Chris Latham then left the field for treatment on a finger injury and before the Barbarians could send on a replacement, New Zealand had exploited the extra man and sent Gear over down the vacant wing.

Just two minutes before the interval Nonu’s arcing run took him through the Barbarians defence and he handed off Bill Young en route to the line as New Zealand opened a 12-point lead.

Within three minutes of the restart Gear was over again and New Zealand extended their lead to 26-12 as the Barbarians rearranged having made five changes.

One of those, Italian prop Cicero, the only European in the squad, emerged as something of a talisman, raising spirits with his bullocking runs and he touched down as the Barbarians once again profited from a drive to the line.

The All Blacks hit back almost immediately but in controversial fashion, spreading the ball from right to left and back again to create the opening for Laulala after Rogers had been poleaxed by a neck-high tackle from scrum-half Jimmy Cowan.

Marshall complained but South African referee Andy Turner insisted he had seen nothing, though he was given no help at all from his touch judges.

The game then began to fizzle out as a contest and as the 58,597 crowd inside Twickenham tried to keep warm with a Mexican wave, Kaino showed why he is considered such a prospect Down Under with a powerful run to notch New Zealand’s sixth try.

South African lock Van den Berg galloped home to pull a score back for the Barbarians with 10 minutes remaining after picking off an interception.

The final act was reserved for Weepu, the All Blacks reserve scrum-half, who scampered over for New Zealand’s seventh try of the afternoon.