CORNISH All Blacks' coach Keith Brooking's after match comments included "We failed to put any pattern on our game and we allowed Cambridge to play too much" which they did to good effect in the first half.

The match was close to being over at half time when Cambridge led 22-3 but the All Blacks, given a good telling-off by their skipper, full back Mal Roberts, came out battling fiercely, stopped their opponents scoring again and added a try to their own tally in the 79th minute —but it was far too late for a comeback and they were left to imagine what might have been if they had got their act together from the kick off.

Cambridge had points on the board in the first minute when they were awarded a penalty for holding on, and centre Craig Evans kicked the goal. On the quarter hour it became 10-0. The All Blacks had briefly come back hard camping for five minutes on the home line but came away with no reward. Cambridge hit back and camped on the line in turn.  There were several scrums and when one was wheeled, scrum half Stefan Lieberberg crossed for Evans to convert.

The game now swung back and forth but Cambridge always looked the more dangerous and just after the half hour their pack drove over the line after a series of rucks and mauls, with flanker Matt Edison touching down under a pile of bodies. There was no conversion and three minutes on the All Blacks' fly half Tony Yapp was able to kick a penalty to open his side's account.

A minute before the interval Cambridge rubbed in their overall superiority when Lieberberg bagged his second try, cutting a nice angle in to the posts after a lot of pressure in the All Blacks' 22. Evans again added the extras and at 22-3 Cambridge were sitting pretty.

The visitors came out at the re-start all guns blazing and  only good defence kept them out. In fact, in the last quarter of an hour they missed two probable tries when they twice had a three-on-one. Their late reward was the late try scored by replacement lock Dave Kimberley, who went over in the corner after concerted pressure left and right in the home 22. The All Blacks maintained their pressure to the very end, but it was far too late to turn things around.

 Cambridge:   T Wheatcroft;  A Schmidt, A Dodge, C Evans, C Lombaard; J Shanahan (capt), S Lieberberg;  A Brown, S Pearl (J Armitage 55), B Cooper (B Hunter 65); D Legge, P Kolakanski; G McComb, M Edison, D Archer. Replacements not used:  S Hood, D Hunter, J Hinkins.

Scorers: Tries, S Lieberberg 2, M Eddison; con, C Evans 2; pen, Evans.

All Blacks:  M Roberts (capt);  J Luff, R Westren, E Lewsey (J Fabian 65), B Turner; T Yapp, L Webb; T Mathias (J Bolt 36-46, 70), D Semmens, N Bayliss (B Pow 60); B Hilton (50-55, 70), B Jenkins; M Rawlings, T Rawlings (J Lord 60), S Hocking.

Scorers: try, D Kimberley; pen, T Yapp.

Yellow card: Mathias.

Referee:  Mr K Lewis (RFU).

Attendance: 632.