Kiwi joy for soaring Sivivatu
By Ben Blackmore
Last Updated: 01/01/70 1:00am
Sitiveni Sivivatu scored a hat-trick of tries as New Zealand brushed aside Wales 45-10.
New Zealand capped off a near-perfect tour of Europe by thrashing Wales 45-10 to make it four wins from four.
Having been angered by officials who messed around with the scheduling of the haka before the match, the All Blacks produced a scintillating first half display to blow Wales away at the Millennium Stadium.
Flying winger Sitiveni Sivivatu grabbed a superb hat-trick of tries in addition to Luke McAlister's touchdown and a penalty score, Martyn Williams grabbing the consolation for the hosts.
In a meeting of arguably the two most attractive sides in world rugby, the Kiwis tore into their hosts, dominating proceedings through their irrepressible back row.
Wales coach Gareth Jenkins had named his self-confessed 'best XV' before kick-off, leaving Gavin Henson and James Hook on the bench to make room for Kiwi-born centre Sonny Parker and skipper Stephen Jones.
Admittedly the line-up was missing veteran full-back Gareth Thomas, but that still will not hide the fact that the cream of Wales were outclassed by their All Black counterparts.
New Zealand's rotated squad went into the match with two wins against France and a triumph over England to their name, yet the major talking point was the absence of their famed haka ritual.
Thanks to a ridiculous political row that prevented the haka being performed last, the All Blacks were forced to perform it being closed doors.
As a result New Zealand came thundering out of the blocks, scoring off their first piece of possession, McAlister coasting over after Sivivatu had weighed up options to his left and right.
By the 10-minute mark it was 10-0 thanks to Carter's first contribution of the afternoon, splitting the posts from 40 yards after Wales were penalised for pulling down at the line-out.
Three more points followed as the Kiwis dominated, leaving Wales facing a similar task to that posed by Australia's flying start three weeks previously, but New Zealand are a different kettle of fish to their Southern Hemisphere neighbours right now.
Ryan Jones warned his Wales team-mates they would be 'mauled by hyenas' if they went into their shells in Cardiff, yet the All Black forwards were more like wolves as they hunted the ball in the first half.
The Kiwi back row of Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw and man-of-the-match Jerry Collins suffocated the hosts' attack like an inescapable blanket, and they even turned Welsh possession into three New Zealand points by forcing turnover ball.
It took 25 minutes for Wales to get on the scoreboard, Stephen Jones converting a close-range penalty for 16-3.
To their credit, Jenkins' men had at least stemmed the early tide, but it only takes one handling error for the All Blacks to punish their opponents, and punish them they did - twice.
First, Rhys Thomas spilled the ball on halfway, allowing the Kiwis to roar towards the home whitewash through Carter and Keith Robinson, before Sivivatu was fed in at the corner for a converted 23-3 scoreline.
Then, New Zealand showed why they are arguably the most complete rugby side the world has seen, with all XV contributing to Sivivatu's second score before the break.
After Ali Williams, a second-row forward, had produced a superb spiralling clearance from defence, the deadly All Blacks broke from yet another turnover through Carter and then Conrad Smith, who delayed and delayed before reversing the ball to Sivivatu, who was running the perfect inside line for a 28-3 half-time score.
Wales were in desperate need of a change in direction and, despite no sign of Henson or Hook at the interval, they did produce a far more encouraging second half performance.
Early signs were New Zealand would continue to dominate as Carter kicked his sixth penalty to establish a 31-3 lead, the All Blacks threatening to surpass their highest ever winning margin in Wales, a 41-3 triumph in 2005.
However, coach Jenkins' response was to throw on Hook and the combative Alix Popham in a change that sparked the hosts' best spell of the contest.
Kiwi captain McCaw was sin-binned on the hour for killing the ball under heavy Wales pressure, and the Dragons instantly made the most of their man advantage.
Stacking the pressure on the depleted Kiwi forwards, the red pack finally bundled over with Martyn Williams emerging as the try-scorer for 31-10.
It was a fine chance for Wales to build some momentum, but within seconds Williams turned from hero to villain, losing his defensive discipline to allow replacement stand-off Nicky Evans to burst through, offloading to Sivivatu for the winger's 14th try in 12 caps.
Andrew Hore then saw yellow for a similar offence to his skipper, yet it did not stop the All Blacks adding a fifth and final score, referee Dave Pearson awarding the penalty try after a superb combination between Sivivatu and Rico Gear was illegally halted on the Welsh line.
