New Zealand's captain Kieran Read wins the ball in a line out Rugby World Cup Pool C match between New Zealand and Tonga at St James' Park, Newcastle, England, Friday, Oct. 9, 2015.Jon Super/The Associated Press
New Zealand pulled away in the last half-hour to cruise to a 47-9 win over Tonga on Friday, but headed into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals without a complete 80-minute performance in the pool stage.
Tonga was only 14-6 behind and causing problems for the All Blacks before momentum swung when winger Nehe Milner-Skudder crossed in the 53rd minute for the first of his two tries at St. James' Park.
New Zealand scored five tries in the second half – and seven in total – for a fourth straight win to top Pool C. Fittingly, the last try was scored by centre Ma'a Nonu on his 100th appearance in the iconic black jersey.
However, there's plenty of room for improvement for the defending champions, after a first half when their scrum was pushed around and the handling was sloppy. New Zealand also looked vulnerable at stages in its first three wins, over Argentina, Namibia and Georgia.
The Tongans exited the tournament with just one win in the pool – and with a fifth straight loss to the All Blacks – and a fourth-place finish means they will have to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. But they rattled their illustrious opponents in Newcastle.
New Zealand's scrum gave away four first-half penalties – two of which came when they packed down with seven men after captain Kieran Read's yellow card – and their error count was high. Winger Waisake Naholo spilled the ball from Dan Carter's pass when faced with a 3-on-1 in the left corner, from a move that started from Ben Smith's break after Read fumbled a high ball.
The Tongans also found some joy with breaks through flimsy New Zealand defence close to the ruck. At halftime, the Tongans enjoyed more territory (55 per cent), produced fewer tackles, earned more penalties and had an extra man on the field – but still found themselves 14-3 down.
This New Zealand team will never lose its ruthless edge, and the first try by Ben Smith was clinical, with great handling from Milner-Skudder, Sam Cane and Conrad Smith in a narrow channel from a blindside move.
Prop Tony Woodcock's score was at the other end of the scale, the prop barging over from close range after a delayed pass from scrumhalf Aaron Smith.
Tonga's only first-half points came from Kurt Morath's penalty, but the Pacific Islanders should have added more in the final minutes after Read was sin-binned for bringing down a driving maul. Four scrums followed – the All Blacks were penalized at two of them – before an attempt out wide was held up in added time.
Morath cut the lead to 14-6 with a 49th-minute penalty, but two tries from Milner-Skudder hit the Tongans hard. He barged through opposite winger Fetu'u Vainikolo after relentless pressure from New Zealand's forwards in the 53rd, then ran onto Beauden Barrett's grubber kick to ground in the opposite corner.
After that, it was a procession as Tonga tired and the All Blacks' stellar bench rammed home the team's advantage.
Sonny Bill Williams crossed unchallenged from Aaron Smith's inside pass, Cane rolled off a maul to score in the left corner and Nonu was on the shoulder of Milner-Skudder to complete the scoring with four minutes left.
Nonu's try was the only one that Carter didn't convert.
The result lifted Argentina into the quarter-finals and confirmed Georgia as third in the pool and an automatic qualifier for the 2019 World Cup.