All Blacks are a law unto themselves in the Tri-Nations

New Zealand extended their unbeaten home run to 30 matches with a gutsy victory
over South Africa.

In the opening Tri-Nations match in Wellington, the new-look All Blacks, without injured captain Richie McCaw and in freezing wet and windy conditions, triumphed thanks to the boot of Dan Carter and a try from Jerome Kaino.

Bryan Habana's touchdown for the Springboks gave the visitors hope but they were second best in a hugely physical contest.

Adam Thomson and Ali Williams of the All Blacks jump for the ball with Conrad Jantjes and Schalk Burger of the Springboks

It was the first time an international match had been played under the
Experimental Law Variations, and though the new rules allow for a more expansive
game, the conditions, especially in the first half, meant both teams opted to
kick or keep the play close rather than spreading the ball through the backs.

The physicality of the contest was evident from the outset with Boks fly-half
Butch James making a late charge on opposite number Carter inside the opening
minute.

Carter could not make the most of the penalty, missing a straightforward shot
in front of goal, but he made no mistake in the fourth minute when he banged
over a three-pointer.

Brad Thorn was lucky not to be sin-binned moments later when he picked
Springboks hooker John Smit off his feet and dropped him to the ground after
Adam Thomson had caught full-back Conrad Jantjes with a high tackle to spark
pushing and shoving.

Smit suggested to referee Stuart Dickinson that it had been a spear tackle but
no cards were shown and James levelled the score with the resulting penalty.

Carter extended the All Blacks' lead to 6-3 with another penalty in the 20th
minute when Smit - playing under the ELVs for the first time - was penalised for
offside.

Schalk Buger of the Springboks gets tackled by Daniel Carter

James wasted an opportunity to close the gap when Andrew Hore was penalised for
offside in the 25th minute but Carter made no mistake with his fourth attempt of
the night when Boks number eight Joe van Niekerk, who had put team-mate Adrian
Jacobs under huge pressure in his own 22 with an awful pass, then compounded the
error by being caught offside.

Then, four minutes before half-time and against the run of play, lightning
quick wing Habana dived over for the opening try of the match.

The All Blacks turned over possession at the breakdown in the Boks half and a
well-weighted pass from Jacobs found fellow midfielder Jean de Villiers who
burst through the gap before sending Habana in at the corner.

James failed to add the conversion and the All Blacks held on for a slender 9-8
lead at the break.

The All Blacks were quick out of the blocks in the second half with Kaino
scoring his first international try and Carter adding the conversion for a 16-8
lead.

Kaino should have had a second in the 57th minute when he chased a Carter
crossfield kick but assistant referee James Leckie ruled he had been ahead of
the fly-half.

Both teams rang the changes in the second period and Francois Steyn, who came
on for James, fired a speculative long-range drop goal in a bid to close the gap
but watched as it dropped just short.

And in the end it was Carter who had the final say, slotting his final penalty
of the night with nine minutes to play.

New Zealand captain Rodney So'oialo said: "It was a very important win for us.
We were on the back foot throughout the first half but came good thanks to a
15-minute spell in the second.

"South Africa are the best, they're the world champs and have a great defence
which we needed to crack.

"I'm just glad the boys came through."