| Time |
Score |
|
| |
|
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the historic clash between the United States and New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago. It's a tad cold in the windy city but that hasn't stopped the 62,000 strong crowd from showing up.
|
| 1 |
|
Aaron Cruden gets us underway before the Eagles immediately clear down field through a box kick. The All Blacks aren't about to kick it however and Sonny Bill Williams makes an early break to take NZ deep inside USA territory.
|
| 2 |
0 - 5 |
The All Blacks are hard on the attack and they are having little trouble getting quick ball from the breakdown.
|
| 3 |
|
Try Time All Blacks! We're going upstairs for a try to Nathan Harris, the hooker is given the green light after TJ Perenara took a quick tap and shifted the ball to the left.
|
| 4 |
|
The Eagles again kick away possession and the All Blacks very nearly burn them on the counter through Israel Dagg and TJ Perenara. The play breaks down though and the Eagles are awarded a penalty.
|
| 6 |
|
The Eagles are rolling on the attack and actually making a few small breaks in behind the All Blacks defence. Great ball retention so far ass move inside the All Blacks' 10.
|
| 8 |
|
The Eagles keep building the pressure and phases as they search for a first ever try against the All Blacks, the visitors' defensive line is holding firm for now though.
|
| 10 |
3 - 5 |
Eagles kicker Adam Sidall gets his side on the board from a penalty after some great ball retention from the Eagles. The All Blacks had been under pressure before giving away the penalty for off-side.
|
| 13 |
|
Former NFL player Hayden Smith is getting through plenty of work for the Eagles as they rumble up field impressively. The hosts make a couple of half-breaks before giving away a penalty at the breakdown. Plenty of positive signs early though.
|
| 14 |
3 - 10 |
Jane - try
|
| 15 |
3 - 12 |
Try time All Blacks! A wonderful offload from Israel Dagg out of the back of his hand releases winger Cory Jane who produces a wonderful in-and-away to beat the fullback and score in the corner. Aaron Cruden nails the conversion this time and it's the visitors leading 12-3.
|
| 17 |
6 - 12 |
Great work from the kick-off from winger Blane Scully sees the Eagles win a penalty immediately. The winger leapt into the air to steal the re-start before making a few metres and earning his side a shot a three points. Adam Siddall nails the shot to reduce the deficit to 12-6
|
| 19 |
6 - 19 |
The All Blacks are in again! Patrick Tuipolutu finishes off some fine work from the likes of Israel Dagg and Aaron Cruden. The Eagles are missing a few tackles first up and the visitors are making the most of it.
|
| 20 |
6 - 24 |
Williams - try
|
| 21 |
6 - 26 |
And just like that the All Blacks go bang, bang! This time it's Sonny Bill Williams who goes over, the centre cruises across the line after some poor defence and another wonderful offload from Israel Dagg. The Eagles need to start making tackles or it's going to be a long afternoon.
|
| 23 |
|
The Eagles finally get their hands on the ball again and put together some nice phases before Liam Messam wins a turnover. The clearing kick is charged down however, which keeps the Eagles inside All Blacks' territory.
|
| 25 |
6 - 31 |
Try time All Blacks! Charles Piutau is the next NZ back to get his name on the scoresheet, the winger finishing off a smart counter attack where Dagg again featured. Cruden misses the conversion but the All Blacks are still in complete control at 31-6.
|
| 29 |
6 - 38 |
Sonny Bill has another! The big centre has marked his rugby return with a double after TJ Perenara took a quick lineout and set the All Blacks juggernaut in motion. Williams burned the covering defence with some nice footwork to show he's not just brute power.
|
| 31 |
|
A bit of bad news for the All Blacks with Cory Jane seemingly injuring his hamstring on his last run. The winger pulled up in a hurry and was later clutching his hamstring on the ground.
|
| 33 |
6 - 43 |
Savea - try
|
| 34 |
|
The All Blacks have another one with replacement Julian Savea touching down out wide. The opportunity came after a huge scrum from the visitors, No.8 Kieran Read picking up at the back from the tighthead and delivering the pass to Savea.
|
| 37 |
|
The Eagles are actually showing some nice touches when they manage to get their hands on the ball. Skipper Todd Clever is getting through a mountain of work while winger Blaine Scully has plenty of talent. It will be the All Blacks with the last opportunity of the first half however.
|
| 39 |
|
A great covering tackle from Eagles winger Blaine Scully denies Julian Savea a second try.
|
| 40 |
|
That's half-time in Chicago and it's the All Blacks in cruise control at 43-6! It would be great to see the Eagles score a try in the second half; they've probably deserved one.
|
| 40 |
|
US fly half Adam Siddall gets us underway in the second half. The All Blacks clear up field and it doesn't take long for them to force a mistake from the hosts.
|
| 41 |
|
Sonny Bill Williams is denied a hat-trick (for now) after Julian Savea's final pass is ruled forward. The big winger had been on the receiving end of a superb cross-field kick from Aaron Cruden to create the opportunity.
|
| 43 |
|
The local fans go wild as one of the American players snatches an intercept and sprints 20 metres before being called back by ref Craig Joubert. The South African had been playing advantage much to the disappointment of the home fans.
|
| 45 |
6 - 48 |
The All Blacks have their first try of the second half through prop Joe Moody. The front-rower received a smart little tap down from skipper Kieran Read at the top of the lineout to catch the Eagles napping on the inside.
|
| 48 |
6 - 53 |
The All Blacks are in again, this time it's fly half Aaron Cruden who finds the line. Some nice offloads from Charlie Faumuina, Charles Piutau and veteran hooker Keven Mealamu kept the play rolling along and Cruden was the beneficiary.
|
| 50 |
|
A big moment as Dan Carter comes on for his first Test in 12 months. He'll have 30 minutes to blow out some cobwebs and put some pressure on Cruden and Beauden Barrett.
|
| 53 |
|
The All Blacks just bludgeoned the Eagles at scrum time - the visitors have no answer to the world champions' power at the set-piece.
|
| 56 |
6 - 58 |
It takes little time for Carter to find his feet, the replacement flyhalf cutting into the Eagles' backfield on a nice run before offloading to Israel Dagg for the try. The fullback has had a hand in so many of his side's five-pointers today so it's nice to see him grab one of his own.
|
| 57 |
6 - 60 |
Carter - conversion
|
| 59 |
|
The Eagles just struggling to get their hands on the ball in the second half. And the little pill they are securing isn't being retained beyond a couple of phases, which is in contrast to the first half.
|
| 62 |
|
The All Blacks go within a metre of scoring yet again with Victor Vito denied by some desperate Eagles defence. The opportunity isn't lost however and the visitors will attack from a scrum.
|
| 64 |
6 - 65 |
Try time All Blacks. The visitors have their 11th try of the day through flanker Sam Cane. A solid scrum laid the platform and it only took the Kiwis another two phases to secure yet another five points. Carter adds the extras to mark his return to Test rugby.
|
| 65 |
6 - 67 |
Carter - conversion
|
| 67 |
|
Here comes the Eagles' best chance of the half. No! they've kicked it away and the All Blacks sweep onto the counter and charge up field. The visitors are called back for some obstruction though, denying hooker Keven Mealamu a five-pointer.
|
| 69 |
|
Just a few mistakes starting to creep into the All Blacks' game as the clock begins to wind down. But they'll be reasonable happy with this hitout ahead of next week's clash with England at Twickenham.
|
| 72 |
|
The All Blacks have just destroyed another Eagles' scrum. The hosts have no answer to the weight that's coming through. The visitors will attack from one of their own now after winning a penalty for their set-piece dominance.
|
| 75 |
|
Augustin Pulu will field another scrum with the All Blacks opting for the set-piece following a penalty for not rolling away. To their credit, the Eagles are showing plenty of heart in defence late in the match.
|
| 78 |
6 - 72 |
Julian Savea get his second try of the night after a sharp counter attack from the All Blacks. Dan Carter was again involved but the final pass was thrown by Victor Vito, the flanker offloading a brilliant flick ball to the delight of the crowd.
|
| 79 |
6 - 74 |
Carter - conversion
|
| 80 |
|
That's full-time in Chicago with the All Blacks cruising to a 74-6 win. The Eagles showed some positive signs in the early stages but simply couldn't handle the All Blacks' attacking game. NZ coach Steve Hansen will be happy with the performance with his only major concern being a hamstring injury to Cory Jane. Thanks for your company.
|
