Have you ever seen three tries disallowed in 15 minutes of play, before? The All Blacks saw two scores chalked off, while the Uruguayans were denied a famous score as Manuel Ardao was ruled to have put a foot in touch.

The first would-be try, was a Cam Roigard dive into the corner, that was ruled a no-score after the scrum-half had the ball dislodged in a last-ditch tackle attempt by los Teros’ No 1, Mateo Sanguinetti.

The same Kiwi was charged down after a harum-scarum stint of end-to-end action, but with the ball loose, the all-action flanker dived in. Alas, he was in touch when he touched the ball down, according to TMO Marius Jonker.

The same official then had a hand in ruling out the third possible score, when Richie Mo’unga was pulled up for a neck-roll on Santiago Arata, in the build-up to a Damian McKenzie try.

After three tries disallowed, finally a score

The full-back eventually got his score, but against the odds, it was 0-0 until the 19th minute.

The All Blacks made plenty of errors, while the Teros played with real adventure – perhaps when it would be better to clear their lines. But it made for a fun, if surprising, opening quarter.

The Kiwis had the edge int he scrum, however, and with that advantage they could clear a lane for an arcing Mo’unga to run in almost untouched for try number two.

And it was all downhill from there for the South Americans, as New Zealand finished up with 11 tries to Uruguay’s zero.

Leicester Fainga’anuku bagged a hat-trick, while McKenzie had two, as did Will Jordan. There were single scores for Mo’unga, Roigard, Fletcher Newell, and Tamaiti Williams.

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.