Their afterburners on and defensive problems solved, the All Blacks powered into the Rugby World Cup semifinals on Saturday.
New Zealand won a special victory against its fiercest rival South Africa, 29-9, making up, in part, for losses in 1999 and the 1995 final.
It was South Africa's first exit at the quarterfinal stage and it came after a mistake-ridden performance including a massive 34 missed tackles.
PHOTO: AFP
"They were very physical," said Springbok captain Corne Krige. "You've got to look at the pressure they put on us. We did make a lot of mistakes, but you have to look at the pressure and the massive hits."
The game also farewelled South Africa's most capped player, Joost van der Westhuizen, who trudged off late in the match having been outplayed by opponent Justin Marshall.
New Zealand, which will meet the winner of the Australia versus Scotland match later Saturday, scored three tries to none and center Leon MacDonald finished with 16 points from a try, a conversion and three penalties. Derick Hougaard scored South Africa's points with three penalties.
PHOTO: AFP
"We really wanted to carry on with a good performance," said New Zealand captain Reuben Thorne. "We worked hard tonight and deserved the win."
South Africa, having lost its past six tests against the All Blacks, needed to show the same commitment and tenacity displayed against England earlier in the tournament but struggled to get into the game.
New Zealand was given a fright by Wales in its final pool match, where the All Blacks midfield defense was shown to be vulnerable.
PHOTO: AP
The Springboks, though, were unable to put any pressure on their opponents in the opening half hour, let down miserably by Hougaard's poor open play kicking and several basic mistakes.
There have never been doubts about New Zealand's attacking potency and, in the perfect conditions of an indoor dome, the most exciting backline in the game let loose. The All Blacks targeted Springbok outside center Jorrie Muller, running around him at will.
Marshall was the first to threaten, taking a ball from hooker Keven Mealamu and streaming 70 meters through the midfield on six minutes. Marshall got a pass outside to winger Joe Rokocoko but the Springboks managed to survive, as they did three minutes later when Rokocoko beat Muller for pace but let down wing partner Doug Howlett with a poor pass.
The Springbok defense was a shambles and center De Wet Barry, one of biggest hitters in the game, tried to impose himself on the match by bringing Aaron Mauger down. MacDonald opened the scoring on 12 minutes with a penalty, canceled out by Hougaard two minutes later, before New Zealand managed to make its dominance count with a try.
Marshall threw a poor ball behind Carlos Spencer in the center of the ground and the flyhalf, spinning away from lumbering flanker Danie Rossouw, found wide open space.
Spencer went 40m before MacDonald loomed outside and ran the ball across the line.
Much has been made of South Africa's discipline problems in the past year and on this stage, against this opponent, it needed to be on best behavior. There can be no excuse, then, for a moment of madness from Krige.
Having won a penalty within range of the goal posts, Krige stamped on a New Zealand leg and English referee Tony Spreadbury reversed the call.
A late penalty from Hougaard left the All Blacks leading 13-6 at the break and they really should have made more of their 65 percent possession.
By halftime the Springboks were hanging on, but they emerged with refreshed tactics and caught New Zealand standing.
Their first significant attacking raid of the game came on 42 minutes and the All Blacks were let off by a monumental error from Muller. As he ran at New Zealand fullback Mils Muliaina he had van der Westhuizen, and millions of viewers at home, screaming for him to deliver a ball outside.
Inexplicably, Muller tried his luck, got buried in a tackle and the chance, and game, was gone.
It was a similar blunder to Jaco van der Westhuyzen's dreadful kick against England when he enjoyed a two-man overlap.
The All Blacks worked back up field and Mauger sent over a drop goal, before Hougaard cut the margin to a converted try with his third penalty.
South Africa, playing with desperation and drive missing from the first half, continued to run the ball but went further behind on 59 minutes.
Mealamu, having a magnificent game in tight, blew apart the Springbok pack with a driving run to the tryline.
MacDonald missed the conversion but, at 21-9, it was as good as over. The All Blacks, pre-tournament favorites, held their nerve and after absorbing some pressure killed off the Springboks with a MacDonald penalty 12 minutes from the end.
With the game secure the All Blacks turned on the flair. Rokocoko went in for his seventh try of the tournament, courtesy of a through the legs pass from Spencer. It was all too easy, and a warning for the opposition ahead.
Australia 33, Scotland 16
Australia shook of a lackluster start with three second-half tries to beat Scotland 33-16 in Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal and set up a semifinal showdown against New Zealand.
Scotland dominate the first half and held the Wallabies at 9-9 before recalled center Stirling Mortlock cracked the match open with a 40m try six minutes after the interval to put the world champions on track for a Cup record 11th consecutive win.
Skipper George Gregan and No. 8 David Lyons also crossed for tries, while Elton Flatley was 100 percent accurate with four penalties and three conversions for an 18-point haul.
Australian-born hooker Rob Russell got a consolation try for the Scots when he burrowed over in the last minute and Chris Paterson converted to increase his personal haul to 11 points.
Losing captain Bryan Redpath said the Scots had shown courage to match the Australians in the first half and then hung-in when the game got beyond them.
"We missed a couple of tackles and they capitalized on them, but that's international rugby," said the 32-year-old scrumhalf, who was set to retire after the match. "We were beaten by a better side on the day."
Mortlock, who spent the domestic season on the sidelines recovering from a shoulder operation, made his return to the starting lineup memorable.
He took the ball after flanker Phil Waugh pilfered possession from a Scottish ruck and used his strength to beat Glenn Metcalfe's tackle before outpacing the cover to the tryline. His swan dive at the end underlined his comeback and his confidence in the shoulder.
The Australians went ahead 16-9 when Flatley converted and Steve Larkham's long-range dropped goal attempt hit the cross bar before Flatley added another penalty in the 53rd minute to extend the lead to 10 points.
Matt Giteau, who had his 21st birthday last week, replaced Larkham in the pivotal playmaking role a minute later. He was instrumental in Australia's recovery before limping off with a knee problem eight minutes from fulltime.
Skipper Gregan grubbered ahead from a close-range ruck and dived on the ball rolling in-goal in the 59th minute after Waugh had stripped the ball from Bryan Redpath at a lineout and run 25 meters to take play deep inside the Scottish quarter.
Lyons barged over from the back of a five-meter scrum in the 64th minute for Australia's third touchdown and an unbeatable buffer.
Scotland, rank outsiders after edging into the quarterfinals on a last-ditch 22-20 win over Fiji last weekend, dominated the first half, spending almost two-thirds of the half inside Australia's half.
The Scottish forwards stole three lineout throws from the Australians, who were missing lock and vice-captain David Giffin, a late withdrawal with a strained biceps.
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