The All Blacks have fired late to repel a brave Fiji in Dunedin, completing a 57-23 victory under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The nine tries to three win wasn't without a scare, with Fiji trailing by just eight points midway through the second-half with a man advantage, after the impressive David Havili was yellow carded.
But a Dane Coles rolling maul try with 16 minutes to go, took the All Blacks clear and they finished the stronger to complete the 34-point victory.
Coles scored an incredible four tries on the night after coming on as a replacement for Codie Taylor in the 50th minute.
Fiji showed early they would provide a much tougher test than Tonga a week ago, winning two early penalties and securing an turnover at the breakdown, a facet of play they they would dominate for the first hour.
First-five Ben Volavola put Fiji in front after four minutes before slick hands from Beauden Barrett and Havili put Jordie Barrett away for the opening try of the night.
Playing his first test in four years, Havili looked every part an elite level No.12, breaking two tackles to score the first of two tries midway through the first half.
Havili added his second two-minutes later as the All Blacks threatened to open the floodgates for the second-straight weekend.
But this Fijian side is laden with several players who ply their trade in the biggest leagues across Europe and a lineout drive led to their opening try through No.8 Albert Tuisue.
Fiji withstood a late first-half spell of dominance by the All Blacks, winning several key breakdowns against a New Zealand loose-forward trio missing a specialist openside flanker.
While Ethan Blackadder was excellent around the park and on defence, he was outplayed at the ruck by the Fijian one-two punch of Mesulame Kunavula and Johnny Dyer, who secured four turnover penalties.
Leading 21-11 at the break, the All Blacks came out with a sting in the second spell with left-winger George Bridge crossing for an early try.
But back came Fiji through a beautiful set-piece lineout move that resulted in a try for Kunavula to reduce the gap to 10.
Step up the All Blacks' hooker. Coles entered the game after 49 minutes and made an immediate impact, scoring off the back of a lineout drive, which would become a theme of the next 25 minutes.
Referee Paul Williams awarded a penalty try to Fiji with 20 minutes to play, marching Havili for 10 minutes in the process for illegally sacking a maul - the game was very much on.
But the All Blacks showed great composure, slowing play down and frustrating the tourists into giving away silly penalties, which they made the most of.
Coles scored his second in the 65th minute, before substitute Will Jordan doted down to take the game beyond a gallant Fijian side.
The Hurricanes skipper had his hat-trick with six minutes to play from another lineout drive, before making New Zealand rugby history a minute later with his fourth, to become the first All Blacks forward to score four tries in a test match.
The Fijians pushed hard for a consolation try in the closing seconds, but couldn't break the black wall but they will take a lot of confidence into the second test in a weeks time in Hamilton.
