All Blacks improved win over Sharks in Durban
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
The All Blacksn have produced an improved performance as they put away the Sharks 54-0 in Durban in their second fixture of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
Leading 14-0 at halftime thanks to tries by Fehi Fineanganofo and Damian McKenzie, with Ruben Love converting both..
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Facing a return haka by 44-year-old Ma'a Nonu playing for the Sharks the All Blacks were a little rustry at first but in the second half they were finely tuned and scored a number of running-rugby tries.
Caleb Clarke scored first in the second half from an overlap followed by Fineanganofo scoring his second after some good play from Love and Clarke and Love continued his perfect record off the kicking tee to put the All Blacks ahead 28-0 with 25 minutes to go.
Brad Slater and prop Siale Lauaki came off the bench to make their All Blacks debuts as midfielder Jordie Barrett scored a great team try where the All Blacks handling skills in the wet were on display.
Love kicked the extras to give the All Blacks a 35-0 lead and then there was a roar from the crowd as former All Blacks centurion Ma'a Nonu came on for the Sharks as a replacement at 44 years old.
The All Blacks had halfback Kyle Preston cross next to score after another the backline combined well with Quinn Tupaea instigating the move.
Love kicked his sixth straight conversion to put the All Blacks ahead 42-0 and it wasn't long before the All Blacks had their seventh try, with replacement back Timoci Tavatavanawai scoring in the left corner
Lock Sam Darry finished the game with a charging try through a gap close to the ruck in a pleasing performance.
The All Blacks face the Bulls in Pretoria on Sunday morning in their next match.
All Blacks 54 (Fehi Fineanganofo 2, Damian McKenzie, Caleb Clarke, Jordie Barrett, Kyle Preston, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Sam Darry tries; Ruben Love 7 cons) Sharks 0
HT 14-0
