The All Blacks ran out 0-54 winners over the Sharks in Durban on Tuesday evening, in a one-sided affair that did nothing but reflect the scoreline.

Here are our winners and losers from the match.

Winners

Ma’a Nonu

During his 20-minute cameo at the end, he showed more promise and aggression than any of his teammates did in the entire 60 minutes prior. His age clearly has no limits on his maximum physicality, as he put in some tremendous hits on both sides of the ball.

Obviously his body will fail him at some point in his career, but unless he deems the length of recovery from each game unworthwhile, there’s no reason he can’t compete for a starting spot alongside any of those young guys. All this, after he delivered an incredible Haka, facing down his former team on his own.

Jordie Barrett

Delivered a lesson on 12-play in a match involving the great Nonu. He gave Ruben Love the space at 10 while dictating everything that came across his desk. The speed and variety of his decision-making, as well as the fluidity of his hands, make him the gold standard of inside centres. Deserved his try on the 60-minute mark.

Fehi Fineanganofo

It wasn’t an error-free performance, but it was one that will have caught Dave Rennie’s eye for mainly the right reasons. He put himself about, making six tackles, 12 carries and a turnover, while getting on the scoresheet twice during his 61-metre run, taking advantage of his three line breaks. Although he was guilty of conceding the ball on three occasions, Rennie will likely be content with his attacking output.

Kyle Preston

Cam Roigard was removed from the All Blacks squad as a “precautionary” measure ahead of Tuesday’s match against the Sharks, with Cortez Ratima replacing him. Meanwhile, the inexperienced Preston was given the keys at nine in what would be his first Test match start. You wouldn’t have known it, however. He was in full control of the match throughout, putting in clever kicks, elegant passes, and even arked Nonu to score in the latter stages. 

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Losers

Crowd

Considering the historical and cultural importance of this match, it was highly disappointing to see so few fans packed into the stadium. Around the rugby-playing world, the conversation has surrounded the return of Ma’a Nonu to the global stage, facing the All Blacks for the first time ever, yet so few were there to witness it in person.

Frankly, there are only so many times an international outfit, like New Zealand, will ever face a Super Rugby team. Nations and clubs generally stay in their own lanes, so for there to be so little interest in being a part of the day is concerning.

Kit clash

In the grand scheme of things, it made very little difference, but when the two sides threw themselves into that first ruck, it was difficult to see which team had come out with the ball. If one team is called the ‘All Blacks’, why would you dress yourself in black and white? Why not just white?

In fact, the Sharks do have an all-white strip; why not use it? Yes, this seems pedantic, and the end result ensured that no kit clash warrants its own column, but the question remains: if the scores had stayed close, could the losing side have used it as a valid excuse? It’s all just a little odd.

One-sided affair

There’s that Simpsons meme, ‘Stop, he’s already dead’. Well, this could have used it, but the delivery would have been much sadder. The game remained respectable in the first half, but by the 62nd minute, the Sharks had shipped 42 points with no reply. Nonu’s arrival reinvigorated those watchers, both at home and at the stadium, but the damage had already been done.

New Zealand had effectively turned this into a non-contest, bullying their South African hosts in every area, and causing resentment even among the local fans watching. One fan appeared to direct their frustration with a hand signal towards the cameras at the end of the match. Sadly, this can happen when a club side is short of their international talent.

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