All Blacks pull away late in flattering 38-21 win over the Stormers

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — New Zealand’s first full-scale tour of South Africa in 30 years began with an underwhelming 38-21 win over the Stormers on Friday.

The scoreline flattered a scratch All Blacks side which was favored by at least 30 points.

The makeshift Stormers in preseason mode rallied twice to tie the score, which was knotted at 14 until there were 13 minutes to go. When the Stormers lost their second scrumhalf and had no more reserves backs, the patched-up backline was ruthlessly exposed by New Zealand, which scored three tries in the last eight minutes.

But the result only papered over a performance that was blighted by ill-discipline — three yellow cards — and a struggling set-piece. They overcame those with six tries to three by the Stormers in front of a non-sell-out crowd of 47,130.

The good news for the All Blacks was they appeared to finish with no major injuries, seven players made their first appearance in the black jersey this year, and two more made their debuts off the bench; prop Siale Lauaki and inside back Josh Jacomb.

But the most impressive players in the stadium were Stormers flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed, who looked comfortably cool in his first-class debut at age 20, and flanker Deon Fourie, the dynamo who will be 40 next month.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby