All Blacks v Italy: Will Jordan breaks record but growing pains remain for Dave Rennie’s side

All Blacks 47 Italy 17

By Liam Napier in Wellington

The Matariki stars briefly aligned as Will Jordan broke the tryscoring record and the All Blacks cruised to a comfortable, yet patchy, victory in the capital.

This time, there was no Wellington curse for the All Blacks as they maintained their 18-game unbeaten run against Italy to notch their second straight win under Dave Rennie.

While the All Blacks shook off their first-half struggles to strike a third-quarter groove, suggesting this was a statement result would be inflammatory given Italy arrived after successive losses to Japan and Wales – and with several first-choice players missing.

Pedantic, at times confusing, officiating and far too much TMO intervention didn’t help the stop-start spectacle but in the second week of Rennie’s era, growing pains remain widely evident for the All Blacks.

One quality third-quarter blitz won’t mask other flaws, such as failing to score a point from the 54th minute until Tupou Vaa’i crashed over in added time, and a frustrating first half.

At this stage, cohesion and executing clinical skills remain a work in progress.

Rennie remarked this week that Jordan had scored 37 of his All Blacks tries from the wing. Shifting Jordan back to fullback is increasingly unlikely now after he claimed a hat-trick against Italy to become the first All Black to score 50 test tries, surpassing Doug Howlett and equalling Portia Woodman-Wickliffe as New Zealand’s top all-time finisher.

Five tries in the first two tests of the year certainly endorses Jordan continuing to wing it.

After his third try midway through the second spell, the All Blacks enveloped Jordan behind the posts, and he received a standing ovation from the 34,500-capacity crowd which featured hordes of families and young kids who savoured the earlier kickoff.

Matariki is a time for reflection. When the All Blacks review this match, they will find ample room for improvement particularly from their inaccurate first half that featured discipline and scrum issues, basic errors and wayward passes as they attempted to get to the edge.

For the first half at least, Italy’s defence proved hugely difficult to break down. Their line speed and chop tackles consistently stopped the All Blacks behind the gain line. In the All Blacks’ quest to play out the back door and use the width, their attack was predictable.

Because they didn’t generate the desired go-forward, the All Blacks ruck speed was significantly slower than under the Christchurch roof last week. That allowed the Italian defence to reset and pressure ball carriers and decision-makers. Despite largely dominating possession and territory, this cycle stifled the All Blacks’ attack.

Last week the All Blacks kicked six times in the first half. This time it was four. One of those – Jordie Barrett’s grubber – laid on Jordan’s first try. The desire to keep the ball in hand is admirable but more variation was needed to push and pull the well-organised Italian defence.

The second half was a contrasting story, though. Whatever Rennie said at the break worked as the All Blacks clicked into gear to score 24 points – four tries – in the third quarter to break Italy’s resolve.

With the tourists on the back foot, out of the contest, lock Niccolò Cannone killed off any hopes of an Italian fightback when he copped a red card for his headbutt on Roigard.

Te Awamutu-raised Moorby – after traversing from Southland to Northland, Montpellier and back to the Hurricanes – was injected into his test debut on his 28th birthday late in the first spell to replace the injured Leroy Carter.

Moorby impressed, too, with a highly involved performance that showcased the anticipation he brought to the Hurricanes all season. He sparked the All Blacks after halftime, with a break following quick hands to lay on another try for Hurricanes teammate Cam Roigard. And with another burst down the left edge, Moorby sent Jordan over to equal the All Blacks’ tryscoring record.

Anton Segner’s rise as the first German-born All Black was complete as he emerged from the sheds for the second half, with parents Tim and Eva having travelled from Frankfurt to witness the occasion, to replace Luke Jacobson, who was among the All Blacks’ best first-half performers.

Italy’s back row competed well at the breakdown and second five-eighths Tommaso Menoncello displayed his world-class qualities by pushing off Billy Proctor and collecting the inside ball to claim the opening try in the first minute.

Italy had to wait another 56 minutes for their second strike, though, by which point the contest was done.

Rennie’s All Blacks will bank this seven-tries-to-two performance as a progression from their tense starting-point victory over France.

Two more rookies were introduced to test rugby, joining Xavier Numia, Jamie Hannah, Fehi Fineanganofo from last week, and elements of their game, such as the defence, improved.

But with Ireland looming at Eden Park as the biggest test of this July window, the All Blacks must take another leap next week.

All Blacks 47 (Will Jordan 3, Sam Darry, Cam Roigard, Ethan de Groot, Tupou Vaa’i tries; Ruben Love 6 cons)

Italy 17 (Tommaso Menoncello, Leonardo Marin tries; Paolo Garbisi con, Tommaso Allan con, pen)

HT: 14-10

Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.