361st All Black Test
1081st All Black Game

9 February 2010

New Zealand vs Australia at Jade Stadium
Christchurch, New Zealand
Saturday, 13 July 2002

Reserves:

New Zealand:

Australia:

 16 T. E. Willis
 17 J. M. McDonnell
 18 R. K. Willis
 19 S. R. Broomhall
 20 B. T. Kelleher
 21 D. P. E. Gibson
 22 B. A. Blair

 16 B. J. Cannon
 17 B. J. Darwin (sub 69 min)
 18 M. J. Cockbain (sub 61 min)
 19 D. Lyons (sub 65 min)
 20 C. J. Whitaker
 21 E. J. Flatley (temp sub Herbert 58-69 min, sub 79 min)
 22 M. Rogers (sub 40 min)

Scorers

New Zealand

Australia

Penalty Goals:
A. P. Mehrtens (4)

Penalty Goals:
M. C. Burke (2)

Match Report:

A 14-man All Blacks side held out Australia 12-6 in the opening Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup clash at Christchurch's Jade Stadium on Saturday night.

The resilient New Zealander's were forced to defend their line for the remainder of the match after centre Mark Robinson was banished to the sinbin in the last 10 minutes. A desperate Australian side hammered the All Blacks with wave after wave of attack but the New Zealander's held firm in the dying minutes.

The boot of Andrew Mehrtens kicked the New Zealanders to the victory in the tryless match that sees the All Blacks go one step closer to regaining the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in five years.

It was a sweet victory for coach John Mitchell, who was criticised for his team selection in the build-up to the test match, choosing not to replace any of his starting 15 for the entire match.

The greasy conditions rendered the first major rugby clash of the season a kicking game, as misty rain blanketed the field for the duration of the match. The difficult underfoot conditions and the soapy Adidas ball saw both sides caution their play in the wet. Wallaby first five Stephen Larkham and his All Blacks opposite Mehrtens were kept busy in the wet.

Both sides were guilty of handling errors in the hideous conditions, with the All Blacks having plenty to improve on ahead of their Tri-Nations match against South Africa in Wellington next week.

Eager to score early Justin Marshall took a punt at a drop kick from 40 metres out only to see it go wide. The All Blacks were not long without their first points, however when Mehrtens landed an acutely angled kick from the touchline for the New Zealander's to take a 3-0 advantage. Mehrtens at one stage showed his prowess when a drop kick from his own line ended up just a metre from the Australian tryline. The first five extended New Zealand's lead to 6-0 before Matt Burke kicked his first successful penalty of the evening.

The teams were evenly poised at the end of the first half, the All Blacks leading 6-3 in the tryless opening period. However it was a scrappy affair with Australia producing many handling errors in a spell dominated by the boot. But the All Blacks struggled with their line-out - losing five compared to Australia's one.

New Zealand came close to scoring on the half-hour when right winger Doug Howlett kicked ahead from well inside his own half and harried Larkham as he gathered near his own line and forced a hurried touch kick. The All Blacks charged the resultant line-out, but they were pulled up for an accidental offside.

The boot of Mehrtens continued to keep the All Blacks ahead by six points for the majority of the second half. They were able to maintain their 12-6 lead when Burke missed his second penalty attempt of the evening.

The All Blacks were forced to play the rest of the match with 14 men after centre Mark Robinson was sinbinned at the 72-minute mark within five metres of the Wallaby tryline. The All Blacks defended gallantly deep in their territory as the Australian's hammered their line to no avail. Justin Marshall snatched a turn-over and booted the kick downfield to save the New Zealander's from a last gasp defeat.

Note:
Positions displayed show the current player numbering system.
The past has seen players wear letters, Props wearing the Number 15 through to Fullbacks wearing Number 1.