All Blacks 91 Fiji 0

a superb performance from the All Blacks in the end.. yes the Fijians couldn't tackle to save their lives but in the end, all 22 from Campbell Johnstone to Sosene Anesi played well.. some of their movement was good and the tries they scored were superb.. in fact if Carter and Mauger had had a better day with the boot, the All Blacks would v well have reached the century.. in the end the fact that they kept the Fijians scoreless is fantastic knowing how those big Fijian wingers can run with the ball as they tried to do for 5 minutes in the 2nd half..

staying on that,my goodness the All Blacks defended brilliantly, keeping their cool, making sure those Fijians couldn't approach the try line.. and their scrum was superb.. Derren Witcombe is emerging as a world class hooker.. he can scrummage, he can run, his throw ins are accurate.. a mix of Meleamu and Oliver.. and with Woodcock and even Somerville, that's a front row to match the much-hyped Jenkins-Thompson-White/Sheridan combo those Lions have.. and haven't even mentioned Carl Hayman..


now it's up to big Carl in tomorrow's big game against the Maori.. same applies to Rico Gear, Macca, Holah, Gibbes to play themselves back into contention.. a "Maoriless" All Blacks is prob inconceivable but possible if these guys have a shocker against the Lions.. Howlett is back to form, Somerville's still as good as ever, Muliana was alright even though he coughed up the ball, So'oialo is in the mix for that no. 7 now, along with Lauaki who's a huge runner, and finally James Ryan is proving to be someone special.. yes it's Fiji but that pass to Howlett (was it?) to score the try was fabulous for a lock..

mind ya Ali Williams had a superb game as well but is proving to be what Craig McMillan is to the Blackcaps.. scored a freakish try, and botched his book early on by missing a drop-out and letting his passes go astray.. in fact he got subbed by Chris Jack.. but i'm an Otago man so i'm biased towards Auckland.. but perhaps James Ryan has won that locking role alongside Chris Jack? if he has, he may have to flag more law exams in the near future..


star of the game? most would say Sitiveni Sivivatu with his 4 tries.. and not only can he attack with pace, he can defend.. which is something which Jonah Lomu and Joe Rokocoko lacked.. however, i think Kelleher, Ryan, Witcombe, So'oialo and everyone else had superb performances, so the gap wouldn't be as big as it may be..

prospects for the Lions tests? fairly promising atm.. must remember that the Lions are gonna tackle a heck lot more than the Fijians did tonight, so the intensity has to be there and a bit more.. hopefully Carter has saved his best kicking boots for the big games.. but the competition for places is v healthy which is always a great sign.. whatever, it should be a brilliant next 2 weeks..

let's not forget Nonu..

p/s Ryan Jones has been brought in as cover for Simon Taylor, who has now been replaced by Michael Owen for tomorrow night's game.. disappointed obviously because i definitely wanted to see Simon Taylor play in New Zealand at that no. 8 position.. however Owen is fantastic.. as for Ryan Jones, he was superb for Wales in the 6 Nations and was unlucky to miss out on the final call for the Lions squad.. good on him..