McKenzie inspires 11-try All Blacks to claim quarter-final spot

New Zealand headed into the Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-finals with Damian McKenzie inspiring the three-time winners to a comfortable 73-0 bonus-point victory over Uruguay at OL Stadium on Thursday. 

 

For the third match in succession the All Blacks put more than 50 points on their opponents, with McKenzie - starting at full-back for the first time since 2021 - at the heart of just about everything. 

 

Uruguay did make the All Blacks work for it, particularly during a frenzied opening quarter during which somewhat bizarrely three tries in 16 minutes - two for New Zealand and one for Uruguay - were chalked off on review. But once McKenzie skipped in off the back of a scrum on the five-metre line, New Zealand proved irresistible. Richie Mo'unga was the next man in, again off the back of a close-range scrum, before McKenzie lit up the packed stadium by collecting his own chip on the touchline before keeping the ball in play with a one-handed pass to winger Will Jordan. 

 

Scrum-half Cam Roigard secured the bonus point just before half-time. Maintaining the pace impressively after the break despite a flurry of substitutions, New Zealand ran in a further seven tries, with winger Leicester Fainga'anuku grabbing a second-half hat-trick. The All Blacks head to the knock-out stages with some serious momentum.