Dan Carter once again showed why he is widely regarded as the world's best first-five, starring with 26 points as the All Blacks opened their European Tour in style, romping to a 41-20 win over England at Twickenham on Monday.
Carter landed five penalties and three conversions, and chipped in with a try of his own in a stunning all-round display from the number 10.
A late inclusion in the starting line-up after Nick Evans was ruled out through injury, Carter produced the big plays whenever England looked threatening, including a brilliant 54m penalty just before halftime.
The result was England's heaviest margin of defeat at Twickenham, overhauling the 18-point difference when they went down 29-11 to South Africa in 1997. It also marked their worst run for 34 years after a string of six losses.
In front of an 82,000-strong crowd, the home side displayed more of a willingness to play an attacking brand of rugby than we've seen from England sides in the past. But with the All Blacks side stacked with potent attacking weapons, New Zealand's flair in broken play appeared to be the difference between the two sides.
After a solid, yet uninspiring start to the match, the All Blacks cut loose just before halftime, racking up 15 points in the five minutes before the break to take a comprehensive 28-5 lead heading in to the second spell.
Despite facing such a hefty deficit, England fought gallantly over the second half, and no doubt caused the All Blacks a few anxious moments.
Dan Carter drew first blood for the match, knocking over a penalty from a handy angle in the third minute. And the star first-five built on the All Blacks lead 10 minutes later, adding his second penalty of the match after England were pinged for offside.
But the All Blacks were lucky not to be trailing early on after they dodged a bullet in the fifth minute, when a fairly conclusive try to England midfielder Jamie Noon was denied by the television match official as there was no clear shot of the ball being grounded.
While the try was disallowed, the ease at which England broke New Zealand's line would have been of great concern to the visitors.
After threatening to break out on a couple of occasions, the All Black backline were finally unleashed in the 23rd minute, resulting in a try to Aaron Mauger.
The try came off the back of a brilliant break from Rico Gear, who displayed some silky running to glide through the England defensive line and sprinting 40m before getting a long ball away to Tony Woodcock, who straightened. And with the All Blacks getting superior numbers to the ball a try was inevitable, with Mauger eventually taking the spoils.
Carter's conversion put New Zealand out to a 13-0 lead.
But England's reply was swift, with the homeside stringing some solid phases of play together following the restart.
The reward for the home side came in the 30th minute, following a patient and prolonged build-up with Jamie Noon sliding in to score England's first try of the match after his earlier effort was denied.
Charlie Hodgson could not convert from out wide and while England still trailed 13-5, the try provided a notable boost to the home side.
But a stunning period of play from the All Blacks in the five minutes before halftime, during which the visitors racked up 15 points, would have well and truly crushed the home side's spirits.
An impressive 54m penalty from Dan Carter stretched the All Blacks lead out to 16-5 in the 38th minute, and the New Zealand side would have been fairly happy to head in to the sheds with an 11-point advantage.
However, England were made to pay dearly for two mistakes over the final minutes of the spell, with Joe Rokocoko and Carl Hayman both scoring tries following errors from the home side.
The late tries saw the All Blacks take a comprehensive 28-5 lead at halftime.
After their high-octane finish to the first spell, the All Blacks looked comparatively lethargic in the opening stages of the second half.
And England soon took advantage, with Ben Cohen scoring in the 45th minute after the visitors defence was found lagging. Hodgson did well to convert from the sideline and cut the All Blacks lead back to 28-12.
Despite the early wake-up call, the All Blacks still looked out of sorts until a brilliant individual effort from Carter kick-started the visitors.
After a rare miss at goal with a penalty attempt, Carter responded immediately from the re-start showing a superb fend and silky running skills to race in for the All Blacks fourth try of the match.
The star first-five then landed the conversion to push the visitors lead out to 35-12.
England proved they weren't about to go down without a fight though, with halfback Shaun Perry scoring a runaway try on debut.
While the try was very much against the run of play, with a stabbing kick put through by Aaron Mauger going straight to Perry, it spurred the home side on and gave them a faint hope of a come from behind victory.
And England were looking even more dangerous when the All Blacks were reduced to 14-men in 64th minute when Chris Masoe was sin-binned for a ruck infringement. While Masoe's indiscretion was fairly minor, the visitors had earlier been warned about their high penalty count.
The resulting penalty from Hodgson reduced the All Blacks lead to 35-20, and with the visitors a man down for 10 minutes it no doubt caused them a few anxious moments.
But the cool head of Carter got the All Blacks home, with the 24-year-old landing two penalties over the final 15 minutes of the match to put the result beyond doubt.
New Zealand coach Graham Henry sent a shiver of apprehension down the spines of the world rugby fraternity on Monday when he agreed the All Blacks were just where they wanted to be a year out from the World Cup.
Savouring the record 41-20 win over England in the first match of the All Blacks' four-test European tour, Henry ticked off his team's achievements.
"The lineout was the best it has been for a long time," he told a news conference. "The scrum was dominant on both their and our ball."
Asked if New Zealand were where they should be in their final European visit before next year's World Cup in France, Henry replied:
"Yes. We had set some objectives and we got them. We have set some objectives for this time and we will tick them off at the end of the tour."
The New Zealand scrum, which held the powerful England pack in last year's 23-19 win, again stood firm with Carl Hayman a tower of strength at tighthead prop.
But it was the lineout, which has been a cause of concern for some time, which would have given Henry and forwards coach Steve Hansen the most satisfaction.
Keith Robinson, back at lock after two years out of the side with a back injury, was given responsibility for the calls. He responded with a towering performance in the lineout and a typically abrasive exhibition around the park.
"He called the lineouts which was a significant factor and he was good around the field," Henry said. Former captain Reuben Thorne, playing at blindside flanker, also gave the All Blacks an extra option with his height at the back.
"We have been working hard on a few techniques and they came through today," Hansen said.
Fallible defence
Henry conceded the New Zealand defence had been fallible at times, with England centre Jamie Noon twice breaching the line for a disallowed try followed by one ruled as legitimate.
But he said some of the problems had come from the experimental combinations the All Blacks fielded with, for example, Ma'a Nonu accompanying Aaron Mauger in the centres after playing his provincial rugby this year on the wing.
Backs' coach Wayne Smith praised Nonu's all-round contribution but he may not have done enough to convince the selectors he should play instead of Conrad Smith in the second test against France at the Stade de France, a match the All Blacks have targeted.
England coach Andy Robinson, whose side have now lost six games in a row, praised the All Blacks' composure and their ability to turn over the ball.
He also said he had not been surprised that man-of-the-match Dan Carter had continued to kick for goal instead of position late in the second half when New Zealand had the game won.
"They are a winning machine, I'm not surprised at all," he said. "He is a kicking machine, he can kick the ball from anywhere."
New Zealand will field a largely reshaped side against France in their next match in Lyon in six days' time before picking their top combination for the second test which could well be a dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup final.
They finish their tour against Wales at the Millennium Stadium on November 25.
