New Zealand returned to winning ways by trouncing the United States 104-14 in Washington on Saturday. In a lopsided test match, the Eagles at least secured their first try against the All Blacks.
New Zealand, who had not played in the U.S. since 2016, won their first game in America since a 10-match winning streak was snapped by South Africa in the final game of the Rugby Championship.
Will Jordan scored three tries and Richie Mo’unga added another as the All Blacks beat Italy 81-10 in their final pool match. The All Blacks scored 16 tries in total, including nine in the first half alone.
“I know they’ll be disappointed with the scoreline, but this was all about gaining experience for them,” said All Blacks head coach Ian Foster after the match.
“The reality is I think they were a little confused and overwhelmed through the first five minutes and it took them a while to figure out they could actually play well against us.”
Prior to the start, American captain Bryce Campbell dropped to one knee at the halfway line as he presented a white, No. 11 U.S. jersey in honor of Sean Wainui, who died in a car crash on Monday.
Before the match, the All Blacks performed the haka to honor Wainui, drawing wild applause from over 40,000 fans in attendance. The All Blacks then made a blockbuster start to the test match at the home of the NFL’s Washington Football Team.
1995 World Cup Record
The All Blacks had their attack firing, but they weren’t able to eclipse the record test victory they set in 1995 at the World Cup in South Africa: a 145-17 win over Japan.
Eagles coach Gary Gold said, “When you play the best tackle team in the world that’s what’s going to happen for 80 minutes. It’s a very tough lesson, but it is a lesson and we will learn from it, we most certainly will.”
The 1874 Cup was billed as a match between the United States and Uruguay, which is a reference to the first account of organised rugby being played in the United States. It was designed to grow interest in a nation hoping to stage a future Rugby World Cup.
The match marked the start of a run of five tests among consecutive weeks between the Welsh, Italian, Irish and French rugby clubs.