The All Blacks have claimed a 54-6 rugby Test win over Japan, but it was far from an emphatic performance in Tokyo.
While the All Blacks were never going to lose, there was not the level of execution and consistency that has been their hallmark this year.
Coach Steve Hansen highlighted the positives of giving less experienced players added responsibility this week and having to prepare mentally for a team they knew they would beat.
But he also admitted he had been disappointed with some of the performances.
“They weren’t that bad but at the same time there were some lessons to be learned,” he said.
“As a team, if we want to be what we say we want to be, then we have to learn those lessons and we have to have honest performance conversations.”
The scrum in particular will have caused Hansen some concern, although skipper Richie McCaw scored his try in the first half when the scrum was under pressure and it did improve in the second half.
Despite the patchy display, New Zealand still managed to rack up eight tries in a stop-start encounter against the game but limited Japanese at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Charles Piutau, McCaw, Sam Cane and Ben Smith all crossed in the first half.
Jeremy Thrush, Frank Halai, Beauden Barrett and Piutau added five-pointers to the tally in the second spell.
First five-eighth Dan Carter and McCaw, playing at No.8, also survived unscathed, with Carter replaced by Tom Taylor in the 51st minute and McCaw playing the full 80.
Although glad to get some game-time under his belt, McCaw was also muted about the team’s performance.
“It was always going to be one of those games where it was going to be easy to get frustrated or try things a little bit much and make mistakes, and I think we did that at times,” he said.
“We did score some good tries, but one thing that really disappointed me was our discipline.
“We gave away a lot of penalties. That takes momentum away from you so that was a bit frustrating.”
Piutau’s performance was, however, a highlight. As well as his brace, he played a key role in the tries for Cane and Smith.
Piutau’s opening five-pointer, off a mistake by Japan No.8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, broke the deadlock.
But by the end of the first quarter, Japan were trailing only 7-6 thanks to two Ayumu Goromaru penalties.
The All Blacks finally got their running game going with Cane, Smith and McCaw all scoring in quick succession for a 28-6 half-time lead.
The tourists started the second half strongly with Thrush powering over from close range.
Taylor replaced Carter, which meant Barrett shifted from fullback to first five-eighth, before Halai capped off a solid debut with a try in the corner.
Some slick handling then put Barrett over and Piutau completed a good day’s work to round out the scoring before a desperate last-ditch tackle by McCaw denied Japan a try at the death.
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