Rugby World Cup 2019: New Zealand 63-0 Canada

The Barrett brothers celebrated making Rugby World Cup history by scoring a try apiece as ruthless holders New Zealand hammered Canada 63-0 at Oita Stadium on Wednesday.

Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Scott Barrett became the first siblings to play in the same All Blacks side in a World Cup and they all made their mark in a nine-try drubbing.

All three brothers touched down along with Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Shannon Frizell and Brad Weber (two) after New Zealand were awarded an early penalty try.

Five of the tries came in a spell of 16 second-half minutes as Steve Hansen’s side ran riot to go second in Pool B behind Italy, after starting their quest to win the Web Ellis Cup for an unprecedented third consecutive time with a win over South Africa.

The outstanding Richie Mo’unga scored 16 points with the boot – nailing all eight conversions – and Ardie Savea became the first player to wear goggles in a World Cup match but whipped them off soon after coming on.

Ardie Savea becomes the first player to wear #RugbyGoggles at a rugby World Cup #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/en7PlVoYtP

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2019

New Zealand made an ominous start with huge backing from an expectant crowd and Romain Poite awarded a penalty try with only four minutes gone, Gordon McRorie punished for trying to steal a ball while a scrum drove Canada beyond their own line.

Jordie Barrett took a crossfield kick from Mo’unga to add a second try and Williams stepped inside and ploughed over for another before turning provider for Beauden Barrett with a clever kick.

The humidity made the ball tricky to handle in the first half, but New Zealand shifted through the gears after the break to put on a show with conditions easing.

Williams darted between a couple of defenders before setting up a simple finish for Ioane and Scott Barrett rounded off a slick move after fumbling as he went to touch down in the first half.

Frizell went over following an initial break from Ioane and New Zealand had four tries in the first 10 minutes of the second half when the rapid Beauden Barrett sprinted 60 metres to lay on a first Test try for Weber.

Mo’unga started that move with a brilliant take and offload, and the magnificent fly-half slipped in Weber for a double before maintaining his 100 per cent record from the tee.

Beauden Barrett missed out on a brace when he dropped the ball running clear right at the end, but that would have been no consolation for battered Canada.

Mo’unga magic makes Canada suffer

Mo’unga showed New Zealand’s strength in depth with a brilliant performance at number 10, showing great vision and skill with ball in hand and producing a flawless display with the boot.

Full-back masterclass from brilliant Beauden

Beauden Barrett showed his class at full-back with a superb all-round display, taking high balls, charging through the Canada defence with a sharp turn of foot and also performing his defensive duties magnificently – the highlight being a great saving tackle to deny Peter Nelson a first-half try.

Key Opta Facts:

– New Zealand have won each of their six Tests against Canada, with their last five victories in that run coming by margins of 50-plus points.
– The All Blacks have won each of their last 16 Rugby World Cup matches, the longest run by any side in the tournament’s history, while they also boast a 100 per cent win rate in pool stage matches at the World Cup (30/30).
– This is the 32nd time that a match has been won by 60-plus points at the Rugby World Cup, New Zealand have been the winning side in 13 of those matches, over twice as many as any other side (England, Australia both five). 
– All three Barrett brothers scored a try in the same game for New Zealand for the first time; Beauden and Jordie Barrett had crossed the try line in the same game once before (v Italy in November 2018).
– Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Whitelock have each won their last 16 Rugby World Cup games, equaling Keven Mealamu for the all-time record of consecutive wins at the tournament.

What’s next?

The holders will be expected to rack up another big score against Namibia on Sunday, while Canada will be in for another daunting encounter with the Springboks two days later.

KEO.co.za News wire is powered by opta