Flyhalf Daniel Carter scored two tries among 33 individual points to lead the All Blacks to a 48-18 win over the British and Irish Lions in the second rugby Test Saturday and a 2-0 victory in the three-Test series.
Carter produced his most potent performance in the number 10 jersey for New Zealand, outshining his famous opposite Jonny Wilkinson who contributed only eight points before leaving the match with an injured shoulder 20 minutes from fulltime.
Carter’s touchdowns in the third and 29th minutes of the second half enlarged the All Blacks’ 21-13 halftime lead, helped them to an advantage of five tries to two and clinched their series win in two of three scheduled Tests. The third, now a dead match, will be played in Auckland next Saturday.
Carter came within inches of a least two more tries and contributed with deft handling, neat passes or inch-perfect kicks to scores by Sitiveni Sivivatu, Tana Umaga and Richie McCaw which filled out the emphatic All Blacks’ win.
Beyond that pivotal contribution, he kicked four conversions and five penalties — nine goals from 10 difficult attempts — to consign Clive Woodward’s Lions to history — the ninth of 10 Lions teams to have lost test series in New Zealand.
Woodward’s boast that his original 45-strong touring party was the fittest and best-prepared Lions team ever to have left Britain echoed hollowly around the Wellington Stadium on Saturday as more athletic, more astute, more attacking All Blacks team left its series in ruins.
”I don’t mind losing when you lose to a better team and when your guys have given their all,” said Lions captain Gareth Thomas.
”I was proud to lead our guys tonight because they gave their all. We tried hard but we were a tried side and we had no more to give.”
Woodward staked a coaching reputation built in nine years with England, which had its peak at the 2003 World Cup, on his ability to guide his massive Lions machine to victory in New Zealand.
His confidence in his ability and the Lions’ was damaged by the All Blacks’ comprehensive, 21-3 first test win at Christchurch.
The Lions placed their focus in that match on the tackle by All Blacks captain Tana Umaga which sidelined Lions’ captain Brian O’Driscoll in the second minute of the Christchurch match.
Umaga returned the Lions’ attention on Saturday when he scored the first of New Zealand’s tries in the 17th minute, giving the All Blacks a lead they never relinquished.
The Lions had begun in earnest with a try to newly appointed captain Thomas less than two minutes into the match. Woodward’s tourists had crashed onto attack when the All Blacks knocked on the kickoff and after a surge down the left-hand touch, Thomas hurled himself through a gap beside a ruck and scored untouched below the crossbar.
The All Blacks’ second try was a classic, scored by celebrated newcomer Sivivatu but crafted by the skilled artists of the New Zealand backline.
It began at a five-metre scrum, made solid by an All Blacks pack growing in strength and confidence. The ball skipped crossfield through five pairs of hands before Sivivatu was unleashed at the last vestiges of a strained defence.
Carter took the ball from halfback Byron Kelleher and doubled around Umaga who hit the line from depth. Aaron Mauger ran into a stopping tackle in midfield but still released the ball to Rico Gear who ballooned a pass to Sivivatu who ran into a closing gap near the left hand touch, beat three tacklers to score.
Carter’s conversion curled wide of the posts and was his only miss from 10 attempts on the night. – Sapa-AP