The ITM Cup squads are full of names you’ve probably never heard of but it can make for 13 weeks of some of the best rugby that New Zealand has to offer besides the All Blacks. While there are several All Blacks taking part in the tournament, they will only be making limited appearances because of the Tri-Nations series.
But back to the action. Waikato defeated Bay of Plenty 13 points to 10. Waikato’s points came from a try by Brendon Leonard, and a conversion and one penalty each by Trent Renata and Dwayne Sweeney. Bay of Plenty’s points came from a try by Tanirau Latimer which was duly converted by Phil Burleigh; and a penalty by Daniel Waenga. Jack Lam got sin-binned in the 68th minute.
Next up was the first of four Bledisloe Cup matches. This match was shrouded in controversy surrounding the All Blacks’ plans for the 80 minutes, which were accidentally leaked to several Australian newspapers. There was also controversy surrounding the condition of the pitch, especially as an AFL (Aussie rules) game had taken place there earlier that day.
Even if the All Blacks did have to redo their game plan, they came away with a 49-28 defeat. New Zealand’s points came from seven tries (two by Mils Muliaina and one each from Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Cory Jane, Joe Rokocoko, and Corey Flynn), and Dan Carter also scored four conversions and two penalties. The Wallabies got their points from tries by Drew Mitchell, Adam Ashey-Cooper, and Rocky Elsom; Matt Giteau kicked two conversions and two penalties and Berrick Barnes kicked a penalty. Owen Franks and Drew Mitchell were sin-binned in the 22nd and 28th minutes respectively. In the 43rd minute, Drew Mitchell became the first Wallaby ever to be sent off against the All Blacks.
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