Will Jordan scored a hat-trick and became New Zealand's all-time leading try-scorer, describing the achievement as "hugely humbling", after the All Blacks defeated Italy 47-17 in a fast-paced Nations Championship Test on Saturday.
Record-breaking performance
Jordan's three tries took his career tally to 50 in 56 Tests, surpassing former wing Doug Howlett who had 49 tries. The speedy wing crossed twice in the second half after scoring once in the first half, as New Zealand scored seven tries in total to make it two bonus-point wins from two in the inaugural 12-nation competition under new coach Dave Rennie. The All Blacks had previously beaten France 34-32 last week.
"It's special. I think back to when I was a kid, practising my chip and chase in the back yard," said Jordan. "To think I'd be here today, it's hugely humbling. I've been part of some great teams over the last seven years and, in turn, I hope I've inspired some kids to practise their chip and chase, and dream big."
Match summary
The home side led only 14-10 after an unconvincing first half but came alive in the third quarter, crossing four times as Italy were reduced to 14 players. Italy's hopes nosedived when lock Niccolo Cannone was shown a yellow card 10 minutes after the interval for a head-butt on New Zealand scrum-half Cam Roigard. The offense was upgraded to a red card by match officials who deemed it carried a high degree of danger with no mitigation.
The visitors also suffered a series of injuries, including an apparent chest injury to fullback Tommaso Allan, who was stretchered from the field after a lengthy break.
Early exchanges
Italy made a dream start when midfielder Tommaso Menoncello crossed in the third minute, finishing off a move he began by busting through Billy Proctor's attempted tackle and interchanging passes with Malik Faissal. New Zealand levelled the scores at 7-7 when lock Sam Darry barged over, before the visitors went back in front through a penalty to Allan. Jordan crossed on the half-hour mark to ensure New Zealand took a narrow advantage into the interval after a scrappy 40 minutes in which they struggled to dent a resolute Italy defence.
"We started really well, we were putting them under pressure," said Italy captain Michele Lamaro.
