Fly half Andrew Mehrtens won a battle of tactical kicking on Saturday, scoring all of New Zealand’s points in a 12-6 victory over reigning champion Australia in the opening match of the Tri-Nations tournament.
Neither back line was called on to run the ball because of the cold, wet and windy conditions at Jade Stadium with Mehrtens and his opposite number Stephen Larkham instead trading kicks.
New Zealand took the field without the experience of Norm Maxwell and Taine Randell but with 12 of the Super 12-winning Canterbury Crusaders.
Playing with the wind in the first half, the All Blacks took the lead in just the fourth minute when fly half Mehrtens converted his first penalty.
Australia then put together a run of strong attacking moves but heavy All Black tackling and the treacherous conditions combined to force a string of handling errors that prevented the Wallabies scoring.
In the 31st minute the All Blacks’ pack looked certain to drive over for a try but as Mehrtens plunged for the line one of his forwards shielded him and Australia was awarded a penalty to relieve the pressure.
But Australia failed to clear and just a minute later the All Blacks were awarded a penalty that Mehrtens converted to make it 6-0.
With just two minutes to go to the break, the Australian pack drove New Zealand off the ball at a scrum and were awarded a penalty that Matthew Burke converted to cut the All Black lead to three points.
But the All Blacks came out strongly in the second half and got the better of the kicking game, forcing another penalty in the 48th minute which Mehrtens slotted home to extend his team’s lead to 9-3.
Burke narrowed the lead again in the 52nd minute after a strong Wallabies attack ended in a penalty before Mehrtens restored the six-point margin with his fourth penalty.
The All Blacks blew a great chance to further extend the lead in the 68th minute when they were awarded a line-out close to the Wallaby line but were penalised for delaying the throw.
They missed out again just minutes later when they had a four-man overlap but failed to take advantage.
In the 74th minute Mark Robinson was sinbinned for 10 minutes after tackling a Wallaby without the ball – a foul that almost certainly saved a try but failed to draw a penalty try from South African referee Jonathan Kaplan.
In the dying minutes Australia came within a few meters (yards) of the All Black line but feverish defence kept them out.
Scores: New Zealand 12 (Andrew Mehrtens 4 penalties), def. Australia 6 (Matthew Burke 2 penalties). – AP