All Blacks stamp out Island magic

Islanders go down - covered in glory

New Zealand managed to smother the fire of the Pacific Islanders with a hectic 41-26 victory on Saturday. The game probably won't go down as one of the most cerebral sporting events of all time, but the heady cocktail of All Black perspiration and Pacific inspiration left the Albany crowd thirsty for more.

The Islanders basked in the bone-dry conditions, and put on a display of running rugby that left the North Harbour Stadium reverberating to the sound of awed ooooh's and ahhhh's.

Even the All Blacks couldn't help but admire the dexterity of the Islanders, and were guilty of tearing up their own sheet music to join their guests in an impromptu session of unstructured jazz.

The concert started with a bang after Joe Rokocoko (who else?) collected a Carlos Spencer cross-field kick to dot down for an unconverted try in the very first minute of play - a score that ushered in a further 79 minutes of breathless rugby.

The Islanders refused to let the early set-back effect them, and began sewing together the phases like accomplished seamstresses rather than a team playing only their second-ever Test.

Suddenly Sione Tong'uiha found a gap, and the Islanders poured through the breach in support of their runaway tighthead. The All Blacks turned on their heels but could not get to grips with the raiders, who recycled the ball and feed fullback Seru Rabeni who stepped through the defence for a converted try and the lead.

The All Blacks soon took advantage of a little Pacific naivety around the rucks and managed to push their way up the middle of the park, allowing the inspired Justin Marshall the room to dart across for a typical scrum-half's try. But again, Daniel Carter's conversion failed to find the space between the posts.

With the All Blacks finding that the middle channel offered them the best return for their efforts, and the Islanders looking to push the ball wide, the game morphed into a battle of wills - with both sides trying to impose their own rhythm on proceedings.

A miscued Carter punt then saw the ball find its way into the hands of Sione Lauaki who was standing on the wing and in space. The big Pacific flanker invited the tackle from Xavier Rush before shifting into overdrive to round the flailing All Black No.8. He then fed speedster Sitiveni Sivivatu who romped home to snatch back the lead with a try converted by Seremaia Bai.

The audacity of the new boys had the All Blacks rattled, and much head-scratching followed an immense Pacific counter-attack that stemmed from a turn-over on the visitor's line.

Again it was Marshall who righted the All Blacks' wrongs by slicing up the middle of the park. Rokocoko continued the move before feeling the force of a Brian Lima tackle on the 22. But the ball came back and into the hands of lock Keith Robinson who showed great vision to send the ball wide for debutante wing Rico Gear to score on his home ground.

Carter converted Gear's try and added a penalty shortly afterwards to restore the status quo, and loosehead Kees Meeuws bundled his way across the line off the back of a fine rolling maul to leave the All Blacks with useful 27-14 lead at the break.

Undeterred by the All Blacks growing stature, the Islanders christened the second period with another touch of pure inspiration.

The ball was tossed around Sevens-style before Fijian lock Ifereimi Rawaga found himself on the wing with little chance of scooting round the opposition, but his dinky little chip ahead landed in the lap of the speeding Sivivatu who cruised in for his second.

The All Blacks response was simple and deadly. From a line-out on the Islanders' 22, the ball was spun wide where Gear drew the defence as captain Tana Umaga embarked on an decoy. The trick opened up an avenue for Rokocoko on the left, and the elegant winger sauntered over for his 24th New Zealand try in only his 16th Test.

The Islanders then hit back with a try that surprised even its scorer. A ruck on the New Zealand 22 broke down in suspected circumstance and the ball spilled out to Lauaki's feet, and the flanker duly trotted over for the try as the All Blacks harangued referee Stuart Dickinson.

Bai's conversion closes the gap to 34-26, and only a shirt-tail tackle from All Blacks openside Marty Holah stops the Islanders' electric fly-half Tanner Vili from squeezing in a fifth try for the visitors.

In the end, however, it was the home side who had the last word, with Umaga sliding over after trading a kick at posts for a scrum in the last minute of the game.

But full credit goes to the Islanders who put in another performance of skill, cunning and colour.

This nine-try festival - played in the best of spirits - was a wonderful advert for the sport, and surely it is now a question of 'when' rather than 'if' the Islanders are awarded a full competitive fixture list.

Man of the match: All the Islanders deserve a pat on the back, but it was New Zealand's veteran scrum-half Justin Marshall who pulled his side off the ropes by imposing some structure to their play. Marshall operated like a loose forward and was not afraid of drawing the big hits for the greater good of his team. His vision split the Islanders' defence on numerous occasions, and his breaks laid the foundations for the win.

Moment of the match: The double helping of pre-match war dances set the tone the day - muscle, passion, beauty, colour - but the real moment has to be Islanders lock Ifereimi Rawaga's cheeky chip ahead that lead to Sivivatu's second try and much laughter in the Pacific ranks.  

Villain of the match: All very good natured on the field, but we caught a few soundbites from the local commentating team who responded to each inspired touch by an Islander by musing about that particular player's All Black potential! They sounded like Shopping Channel compères - this was not a New Zealand trial match.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries: Rokocoko 2, Marshall, Gear, Meeuws, Umaga
Cons: Carter 4
Pen: Carter

For Pacific Islanders:
Tries: Rabeni, Sivivatu 2, Lauaki
Cons: Bai 3

The teams:

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina (Nick Evans 50), 14 Rico Gear, 13 Tana Umaga (capt), 12 Daniel Carter, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Carlos Spencer, 9 Justin Marshall (Byron Kelleher 62), 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jono Gibbes, 5 Keith Robinson, 4 Chris Jack (Jerry Collins 63), 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Kees Meeuws.
Not used: Andrew Hore, Greg Somerville, Mose Tuiali'i, Sam Tuitupou.

Pacific Islanders: 15 Seru Rabeni, 14 Lome Fa'atau (Sireli Bobo 50, Tane Tu'ipulotu 58-63), 13 Brian Lima (Tane Tu'ipulotu 72), 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Tanner Vili, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Alivereti Doviverata (Semo Sititi 70), 6 Sione Lauaki, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Inoke Afeaki (capt) (Felipo Levi 40), 3 Soane Tonga'uiha, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Taufa'ao Filise (Tevita Taumoepeau 70).
Not used: Joeli Lotawa, Steven So'oialo.

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

By Andy Jackson