The All Blacks got their four match tour of Japan, France and Italy off to a winning start in Tokyo this afternoon, scoring seven tries in defeating the Pacific Barbarians 50-10.
But in many respects it was a disjointed performance in the midst of a scrappy game, and may have come at a high cost to the All Blacks. Lock Norm Maxwell suffered a groin injury in the second half which could put in doubt his participation in the European leg of the tour. With Troy Flavell also leaving the field at half time with a less serious injury, the tourists were forced to play with loose forwards Reuben Thorne and Filo Tiatia as their locks and if Maxwell's injury proves to be as serious as it first appeared then there could be promotion for players on the New Zealand A tour.
The Barbarians may have been a scratch side , but they contained six former All Blacks and were always competitive amongst the forwards. Their only try came after scrum half Graeme Bachop benefited from a heal against the head and in the loose Blair Larsen and Jamie Joseph were always combative in attack and defence.
All Black coach Wayne Smith took the opportunity of his side's first stopover in Japan for 13 years to try some new combinations and give some new players a chance of game time. Waikato's Bruce Reihana made a big impression at full back, scoring two tries and always looking dangerous with his speed and clever footwork. Carlos Spencer, firstly at fly half , then at full back, showed touches of his old, familiar, cheeky self and Justin Marshall and Andrew Mehrtens added an edge to their side's back play in the second half.But under the pressure exerted by the largely kiwi Barbarians's side there was an inaccuracy and general lack of cohesion which may give Smith some cause for concern.
Having said that, it is amongst the forwards that much remains to be done before the first test against France next weekend. Without Todd Blackadder's leadership , the All Blacks looked lackluster, especially in the first half, lacking the drive and physical presence to firstly mount and then sustain the sort of pressure that will win a test match.
In a low scoring first half, the Barbarians seemed on the verge of going into half time all square, but a 40th minute Alatini try opened up a 14-7 lead. Earlier, Reihana's first try had given the All Blacks an advantage before Bachop's snipe around the base of the scrum evened things up.
Andy Miller's penalty after 43 minutes narrowed the gap further still, but as Barbarian legs started to tire , the All Blacks took control and ran in a further five tries.They all involved clever handling, good passing and elusive running and the All Black coaching staff will no doubt feel that they had a meaningful run in preparation for the sterner European challenges ahead. But we will only know in the next couple of days the price that has been paid , Maxwell's absence would be a severe disruption but may yet offer the chance to somebody like Glenn Taylor for a well-deserved call-up.
