LYON, France (AP) — New Zealand overcame a sluggish start to beat Uruguay 73-0 in its final pool match at the Rugby World Cup on Thursday. But the All Blacks' performance was less than the polished quarterfinal rehearsal they were hoping for.
New Zealand took 20 minutes to score the first try of the match and for much of the first quarter was put under pressure by Uruguay, which rose to the occasion of the first official test match between the teams.
Still, the All Blacks finished with 11 tries including a second-half hat trick to winger Leicester Fainga'anuku. After their first up loss to France, they beat Namibia 71-0, Italy 96-17 and added another 73 points on Thursday. McKenzie also shone from fullback and his sublime piece of skill to create a try for Jordan was the All Blacks' highlight of the first half. He kicked ahead and when the ball bounced, he balanced precariously close to the touchline and swept the ball one-handed to Jordan.
But when they ran on their bench from 50 minutes or so their cohesion again began to fray and the match became scrappy. More than 10 minutes elapsed between their seventh try and their eighth, a second to Jordan again from strong scrummaging. “We flagged earlier we were really impressed with their work in the pool and it took us a while to break them down. They put a lot of energy into that period and reaped some rewards but it is how you sustain that for 80 minutes.”
There still were high points on Thursday. All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock became only the second male international after Wales' Alun Wyn Jones to play 150 tests. All of New Zealand's front-liners came through unscathed and there still is strong competition for some places in the quarterfinal lineup.
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