England suffer Kiwi mauling
England's cheerless tour of New Zealand ended in Christchurch with a record defeat as the All Blacks cruised to a 44-12 victory.
By Joe Drabble
Last Updated: 21/06/08 5:11pm
England's cheerless tour of New Zealand ended in Christchurch with a record defeat as the All Blacks cruised to a 44-12 victory to clinch the series 2-0.
Despite an improved display from the previous weekend in Auckland - England simply couldn't cope with the hosts' attacking flair as New Zealand ran riot to inflict the tourists' biggest ever loss at the AMI Stadium.
Debutant centre Richard Kahui and fly-half Dan Carter scored unanswered first half tries for the All Blacks before Ma'a Nonu, Sione Lauaki and Jimmy Cowan sealed a comfortable win in the second period.
England battled back admirably and were rewarded for their efforts with two well-crafted second half tries through Danny Care and Tom Varndell, however the tourists rarely threatened in an utterly one-sided affair.
England came into the game determined to cut out the careless errors which cost them dear in Auckland - and promptly made two to fall 3-0 down inside the first two minutes.
Hooker Lee Mears lost possession on his own 22 and when the tourists were penalised for killing the ball, Carter slotted a simple penalty from in front of the posts.
Typically ruthless
James Haskell then ripped the ball from Rodney So'oialo and England threatened when the Wasps flanker attacked the blind-side from a neat lineout move.
England were building some momentum but when Toby Flood's up and under went too long, the All Blacks counter-attacked in typically ruthless fashion.
Sitiveni Sivivatu started the move and Carter surged past Noon before slipping a delightful inside ball for Kahui to race over for the try. New Zealand were 10-0 up after just 12 minutes.
After Matthew Tait had halted one New Zealand surge, Flood produced a try-saving tackle on Kahui just yards from the England line after the All Blacks had counter-attacked again, this time from a quick lineout inside their own half.
Carter extended New Zealand's advantage with a second penalty from the touchline before missing a high ball in his own 22 that gave England a sniff of the line.
Narraway sent Varndell racing down the left but All Blacks full-back Leon MacDonald made it across and forced the Leicester winger's knee into touch as he dived for the line.
Gaping hole
Carter nearly made amends when he rose above Care to claim a chip kick but Tait and Noon did well to get under the ball and hold him up.
New Zealand attacked straight from the back of the resulting scrum and, just as they did three times in Auckland, scored directly from the set-piece as Carter raced through a gaping hole between Mike Tindall and Tait.
Just before the scrum, New Zealand captain Richie McCaw limped off and he was soon followed to the sidelines by Flood, who had hurt his shoulder in the tackle on Kahui.
A superb piece of individual skill then saw Tait chance his arm with a chip forward into the All Blacks 22 after beating Adam Thomson on the outside and the bounce defeated Andy Ellis.
But just as Tait stretched to claim the loose ball, Andy Ellis recovered and punched it out of his grasp and another chance went begging.
There was very little change in England's fortunes immediately after the restart as Olly Barkley, who had replaced Flood, missed a penalty from right in front of the posts.
Brilliant try
As if to rub his face in it, Carter then fired over another long-range effort after Haskell was penalised for offside, conceding an extra 10 metres by throwing the ball away.
England's attacking game lacked any real shape but they rumbled forward into the All Blacks 22 and after New Zealand were penalised at the scrum, Care darted over for a debut try.
Barkley landed the conversion from near the touchline - but Care's effort was immediately cancelled out as New Zealand launched another devastating raid.
Carter found Sivivatu, who shredded England's defence before releasing Nonu to score a brilliant try.
England simply couldn't live with the All Blacks' slick counter-attacks and Lauaki put the game beyond doubt after he combined superbly with Nonu to crash under the posts with 18 minutes remaining.
Varndell then notched his third try in his fourth Test with a neat score after he dived over in the corner, however it was the hosts who fittingly had the final say as Cowan burst through a host of weak tackles to complete the rout.
