All Blacks overcome slow start to beat Italy

New Zealand 47-17 Italy, Wellington

New Zealand overcame a sluggish first half to beat Italy 47-17 and remain unbeaten after two rounds of the Nations Championship.

The All Blacks were far from fluent early on, with handling errors, defensive lapses and breakdown problems allowing Italy to stay firmly in the contest. But a strong second-half performance, led by Will Jordan’s hat-trick, eventually gave New Zealand a comfortable win.

Jordan’s three tries made him New Zealand’s all-time leading try-scorer in Test rugby, taking him to 50 tries in 56 matches. Josh Moorby also made a lively debut off the bench on his birthday, while Anton Segner became the first German-born player to represent the All Blacks.

Italy Punish Early Errors

Italy made the better start and shocked New Zealand after only three minutes. Tommaso Menoncello scored from an All Blacks turnover as the visitors punished New Zealand’s loose opening.

The All Blacks replied within five minutes when lock Sam Darry crossed, but Italy’s flat and physical defence continued to trouble the hosts. New Zealand struggled to dominate the collision area, the breakdown or the set piece, and Italy denied them rhythm for much of the half.

Jordan scored his first try in the 30th minute after a chip kick from Jordie Barrett and a clever recovery by Leroy Carter. That gave New Zealand the lead against the run of play, and they went into half-time 14-10 ahead.

Moorby Sparks Second-Half Surge

Moorby came on for his Test debut in the 31st minute and made a major impact after the break. He broke from the left wing and combined with Hurricanes teammate Cam Roigard to score two minutes after the restart.

Moorby then intercepted and almost scored himself before prop Ethan de Groot crashed over for a try in his 42nd Test.

New Zealand’s lead grew further when Moorby outpaced the cover defence and set up Jordan’s second try, which took him level with Doug Howlett’s All Blacks record. Jordan then claimed the record outright in the 54th minute, scoring his third try after quick thinking from Barrett at a tapped penalty.

Italy Battle On With 14 Men

Italy were reduced to 14 men for much of the final quarter after Niccolo Cannone’s yellow card for an attempted head butt on Roigard was upgraded to red.

Despite being a man down, Italy scored their second try through Leonardo Marin in the 57th minute.

New Zealand were also reduced to 14 late on when Ruben Love was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on in the 71st minute. The All Blacks had already done enough by then, but the errors in their performance will remain a concern before their next match against Ireland in Auckland.