All Blacks - 47 Tonga - 9
FULLTIME: A truly brilliant display from the All Blacks in that second half. The first half was littered with handling errors and there was a definite lack of intensity, but they came out firing and demolished Tonga by the end. Milner-Skudder was the shining light once again - the man has gone from having an outside chance of making the All Blacks, to being a key component of this side in the space of two or three months. Thanks for joining me for the live updates - video highlights will be up shortly.
TRY ALL BLACKS: Wow. They're really looking at the best now, and it's been a long time coming. Milner-Skudder times a pass to perfection, and who else but Ma'a Nonu runs 20 metres and score in the corner. What a try, what a player. The centurion had a huge smile on his face after that one. Carter misses his first conversion of the night. (NZL 47-9)
TRY ALL BLACKS: Another rolling maul from the All Blacks, and it brings another try. Sam Cane's holding the ball at the back, spots a gap and then he just runs into it and grounds the ball just before a Tongan hand is able to get underneath it. Dominant display in this second half. Carter converts. (NZL 42-9)
70 Min: After some slick running play from Milner-Skudder down the wing (again), Carter gets dumped on his head in an awful manner by the substitute Paula Ngauamo. He's yellow-carded, but really, that could easily have been red.
TRY ALL BLACKS: SBW and Ben Franks come on for Conrad Smith and Owen Franks respectively. It's a lineout for the All Blacks and they've launched a driving maul. Smith then passes out to Carter who is brought down. A few phases pass and then Aaron Smith picks out Sonny Bill who can basically walk under the posts to score.
62 Min: Well that kick from Carter rivals Nonu's for the worst tonight. The All Blacks had a chance for a lineout ten metres out, but Carter skews it horribly and its caught in-field by Tonga. They then win it back and spread but it's brought back for a Tonga penalty.
TRY ALL BLACKS: Beauden Barrett's on for Waisake Naholo and immediately slices Tonga apart with a deft grubber, which Milner-Skudder runs onto with great aplomb, placing the ball in-goal. Carter again kicks the conversion from the sideline. Four from four for him tonight. (NZL 28-9)
58 Min: Penalty for Tonga (NZL 21-9)
TRY ALL BLACKS: Guess who? One of only a few in this All Blacks side who has been consistently good at this World Cup. Nehe Milner-Skudder is there again with that brilliant step of his to dot down after an expansive pass from Carter, who then adds the extras from the sideline. Great play from the ABs. (NZL 21-6)
52 Min: Kieran Read has returned to the field now, which is good news for the All Blacks who have struggled a bit in his absence. Whitelock claims a Coles lineout and now the All Blacks look good only five metres from the tryline...
49 Min: Tonga had numbers there but a juggle as they spread it wide allows Nehe Milner-Skudder to reclaim the ball. They're coming back for a penalty though and Morath brings his side to within eight. (NZL 14-6)
47 Min: Tonga make a nice little run down the middle, led by Vainikolo. They're stranded on the All Blacks 22 for a few sequences of play before All Blacks try and snatch it but knock it on. The Tongans now making some ground, only ten metres away from their first try...
45 Min: What is Nonu doing there? He claims the ball on the wing and there's miles of space out the back. He tries to kick into it but instead puts the ball straight out on the full. A quiet, but now error-ridden, game for the latest All Black to reach the 100-Test mark.
42 Min: Luke Romano claims the kick-off from Tongan halfback Kurt Morath. All Blacks string together a couple of good phases, before Nonu jinks through to just over halfway. Ben Smith is again at the forefront of another good piece of play from the All Blacks, running onto a well-timed pass from Carter into space, but there's a knock-on soon after though and Tonga kick for touch.
HALFTIME: They go upstairs to check if a try has been scored - there's no clear evidence it's been grounded on the line though and that means it's halftime. A bit harsh on the Tongans who were putting a lot of pressure on the All Blacks at the end there... Not too bad from our boys for the most part in that half - just lacking a bit in intensity and quality. Join us back here soon for the start of the second period.
40 Min: Last minute of the half and Tonga have a scrum five metres out from the All Blacks tryline and its another big one. The All Blacks collapse it and the ref has a word with stand-in captain Conrad Smith. They can't collapse it again unless they want to give away a penalty try... Somehow they keep the second scrum up and Tonga have it right by the line. Resolute defending from the All Blacks...
38 Min: That was a huge rolling maul from Tonga there! It moves towards the posts with pace and someone needs to do something to stop it. Kieran Read takes one for the team and collapses it, but does so illegally and he's sent to the sin-bin.
36 Min: Tonga win a lineout just past halfway, and they spread it wide with pace. A forward pass spoils the move though, and the All Blacks dodge a bullet. The ref is now coming back to look at a slightly suspect-looking Ben Smith tackle now. It's deemed foul play but he avoids a yellow card.
TRY ALL BLACKS: Naholo makes a wonderful little burst and looks for a moment like he'll go all the way to the line by himself. He's dragged down two metres out though, but some quick ball from Aaron Smith to Tony Woodcock sees him barge over to score his first try since the 2011 World Cup Final. As Justin Marshall says, Woodcock knows how to score the important ones... Carter converts. (NZL 14-3)
30 Min: Finally a chance for the ABs to have a proper run at this Tonga side. Carter, Milner-Skudder and Ben Smith share some wonderful, close-quarters passing that gets them through to about ten metres out. Then a truly strange dink of a kick from Dane Coles has to be cleaned up by Naholo. All Blacks now have a penalty just metres out...
27 Min: Kieran Read spills it from a high bomb - apparently it went backwards but no one in the stadium seemed to agree. Ben Smith then picks up the loose ball and plays a great pass out to Waisake Naholo, who has yards of space to run into but drops it cold! That would almost certainly have been an All Blacks try, but perhaps it was justice after that Read knock-on that wasn't called.
24 Min: The Pacific Islanders probing very successfully inside the All Blacks' half, making a lot of ground very quickly. They have it five metres out now and they sniff a real opportunity here... Woodcock wins the ball but there was an advantage being played and Kurt Morath will kick the game's first penalty. (NZL 7-3)
21 Min: Milner-Skudder catches a big Tongan kick and runs it forward to halfway. A loose pass from Owen Franks means Jerome Kaino has to scramble to catch, but a knock-on shortly after results in a scrum to Tonga.
19 Min: Naholo makes some good ground and Latu tries to grab the ball in the ruck, but does so illegally. Carter kicks for touch and they have a lineout on the Tongan 22. They win the throw, but a battering tackle on Nonu sees the centurion lose the ball and it's a Tongan scrum.
17 Min: The All Blacks show their resilience in defence and Tonga just cannot find a way through. Soane Tonga'ulha loses the ball in a tackle and it's an All Blacks scrum feed.
TRY ALL BLACKS: Tonga win a penalty after the All Blacks were done for some foul play in the ruck. All Blacks win it back, make their way up to the 22 before some brilliant quick hands from Milner-Skudder and Sam Cane sees Ben Smith dot down for the first try of the night. Carter kicks the conversion. (NZL 7-0)
10 Min: A lineout is won by the boys in black. They throw together a couple of phases but some good counter-rucking from Lua Lokotui earns a penalty for Tonga. They'll pack a scrum from inside their 22.
7 Min: Solid defence means Tonga are forced to kick it long. A bit of a long kicking battle ensues between the two No.10s but that's a game Carter is always going to win. The All Blacks have the ball at halfway.
4 Min: The All Blacks work their way up to the Tongans' 22 but some sloppy rucking means Tonga can kick it away. Aaron Smith attempts a big bomb a bit later in that passage of play - but it's charged and they're away up-field! Smith gets back to clean up.
2 Min: Dan Carter kicks off and it's well-claimed by the Tongans. They make good ground early on and Carter is forced to mop up after a dangerous break. Tonga full of energy but Kieran Read shows his class in the ruck to win a penalty.
7:58am: We have the rare occurrence of witnessing both the Haka and the Sipi Tau. Both teams look up for it tonight.
7:50am: Ma'a Nonu leads the All Blacks out at St James Park, becoming just the sixth New Zealander to play 100 Tests for the All Blacks. What a player he has been over the years.
Commentary will start from around 7:50am (NZT). In the meantime check out the video above….
Line ups:
All Blacks: 15. Ben Smith, 14. Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ma'a Nonu, 11. Waisake Naholo, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Kieran Read (c), 7. Sam Cane, 6. Jerome Kaino, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Luke Romano, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16. Keven Mealamu, 17. Wyatt Crockett, 18. Ben Franks, 19. Brodie Retallick, 20. Liam Messam, 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22. Beauden Barrett, 23. Sonny-Bill Williams.
Tonga: 15. Vunga Lilo, 14. Telusa Veainu, 13. Siale Piutau, 12. Latiume Fosita, 11. Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10. Kurt Morath, 9. Sonatane Takulua, 8. Vili Ma'afu, 7. Nili Latu (c), 6. Sione Kalamafoni, 5. Joe Tuineau, 4. Lua Lokotui, 3. Halani 'Aulika, 2. Elvis Taione, 1. Soane Tonga'ulha.
Replacements: 16. Paula Ngauamo, 17. Sona Taumalolo, 18. Sila Puafisi, 19. Steve Mafi, 20. Jack Ram, 21. Samisoni Fisilau, 22. Viliami Tahitu'a, 23. Viliami Helu.
Head to head:
All Blacks - $1.00 Tonga - $26.00
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Pre-match banter:
Read demands lift from All Blacks
Stand-in captain Kieran Read says it's time for the real All Blacks to stand up at the Rugby World Cup.
Three underwhelming performances have done little to engender confidence in the defending champions heading into a quarter-final against either France or Ireland.
They have one last chance to flex their muscles properly in pool play when they face Tonga at Newcastle's St James' Park on Friday.
No.8 Read, skipper in place of the injured Richie McCaw, wants his team to send a reminder to the other RWC hopefuls of what a humming New Zealand team is capable of.
"Every time we get a chance to show what the All Blacks can do and what the All Blacks are all about, we want to take that responsibility," he said.
"It's important to take a step-up in what we've been doing."
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen revealed this week that patchy wins over Argentina, Namibia and Georgia can be partly attributed to their tactical approach at the tournament so far.
Hansen says they have been anxious to not reveal their hand in the pool phase and have instead played in a way to challenge themselves.
Not helping has been a heavy training workload which will ease off as the knockout phase nears.
Assistant coach Ian Foster says the team can feel criticism starting to mount around their performances but they won't feel pressure to deviate from their plan.
"It's important we don't get carried away with trying to get bigger than we are," he said.
"At the moment, we just want to play our game. We feel like we are getting parts of it together and if we can get that right against Tonga, it will have been a really good week for us. If that keeps a few punters happy, it'll be exciting, too."
Second five-eighth Ma'a Nonu plays his 100th game but plenty of interest will be outside him, where wingers Nehe Milner-Skudder and Waisake Naholo both get a chance to impress while Julian Savea is rested.
Little-used Naholo needs to shine on the unfamiliar left wing if he is to oust the in-form Milner-Skudder in one of the most contested positions heading into the quarter-finals.
Dan Carter will also want to reassert his authority at first five-eighth following a sub-par outing against Georgia while the pack as a whole will target a cleaner flow of ball than it has managed against their minnow opposition.
