Milestones fall as All Blacks backline sparks

LAWRENCE SMITH/Fairfax Media

TAKING HIS CHANCES: Zac Guildford was part of an impressive All Black back three against England.

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The All Blacks perform the haka before the test against England at Twickenham.

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It was a special day at Twickenham for Mils Muliaina and Dan Carter, though it was 20-year-old All Black wing sensation Zac Guildford who had the plaudits flowing his way after another eye-catching display.

Guildford was part of an impressive All Black back three, with the record-setting Mils Muliaina in fine form at fullback, Sitiveni Sivivatu having one of his more potent tests of late on the left wing and Guildford weighing in with another free-running, high-energy display in just his second test match in the black jersey.

The trio were the chief threats for the All Blacks as they shook off a lethargic first half, where they were held to 6-6, and cruised to a 19-6 victory for an eighth straight win over England and a fourth on the trot on this tour.

Muliaina joined Justin Marshall, on 81, as the second most capped All Black of all time and Carter's 14-point haul took him 12 past Andrew Mehrtens at the top of the side's all-time points-scoring list.

But in just his second test the young Hawke's Bay flyer Guildford had his coaches waxing lyrical. They are clearly going to have a big call to make next week between him and Cory Jane for the French finale in Marseille.

"He's definitely going to give us one of those (selection headaches)," said back scoach Steve Hansen. "He's come out and backed up his performance at the Millennium Stadium, and played particularly well. The mark of the kid was he's annoyed he missed a tackle, and when he's worrying about little things like that when he played particularly well, it's a great sign for the next few years.

"I think we're going to see a lot of him."

Guildford did a number of things well in his polished display, but his 49th-minute break off an inside ball from Ma'a Nonu was probably the pick of them. He also very nearly slipped clear when he gobbled a pinpoint Carter cross-kick.

"Corey's probably been our most outstanding wing, and Siti's come out and played a boomer today, and that quality of play is forcing each and every one of them to stand up and play," added Hansen... "We'll have a couple of drinks tonight, think about it and pick the side on Monday."

Hansen lauded Guildford's confidence as possibly his biggest attribute, noting the youngster's place in the front row of the haka.

"He doesn't lack any confidence, and he certainly doesn't play like he lacks it. He's going to be good.

"Every now and again players like that come along, and he seems to be one of those guys where it just seems the right place for him. He's still a humble kid but he's got a lot of confidence within himself..."

McCaw smiled at the mention of Guildford working to the front of the haka, noting that there were enough All Blacks keen to go the other way, so it was good to have some balance. But he endorsed Hansen's glowing words.

"He's a good kid. He's come in and he just wants to do well. I know guys like Mils and others have helped him out but he's certainly taken his chance."

Hansen said Muliaina was "outstanding" on his special night and the fullback seemed to thrive on the occasion.

"He's played some good games in his career and think he'll look back at this one and be very proud of it. He countered well, defended well back there and created one or two opportunities and was a bit stiff not to score."

It was far from a perfect night for Carter, with two pretty handy penalty misses, one fluffed high kick and a touch-in-goal from a penalty for the line.

But Henry put his five-eighths' efforts in perspective as he still outplayed Jonny Wilkinson by some margin.

"I guess we're used to perfection aren't we and when he misses a couple of goals it's not perfection for him. So he'll be disappointed in that. But he's a big defender, a proven man inside and you just can't expect to have a 10 out of 10 every week -- 9.5 is not bad."

Both McCaw and Hansen also shrugged off Carter's error going for the corner off a penalty.

"That was probably a metre away from being perfect," said McCaw. "If he'd kicked it then we would have been right on attack. I don't mind him having a crack. Everyone's human too."

Added Hansen: "I'd endorse that. When you go for those penalties you want a lineout five metres out, and the margin of error is one metre each way. Normally he gets them pretty right, so I don't think we should sit here and bag the kid. He's not bad."

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