Another week, another Wales setback. The most recent match ended 52-26, if you weren't tuning in, it will look like just another in their long list defeats versus New Zealand, a streak that extends 34 encounters over seven decades.
Yet there's a chance, for those in charge and on the field, for the huge crowd in the ground, and viewers worldwide following live, it could still turn out to symbolize a greater meaning than that. They didn't quite make, a corner, but they took a little look around one and got a glimpse of upcoming seasons might look like with Tandy at the helm as coach.
Repeatedly, the All Blacks extended their lead crossing the line, starting with just three minutes into the game, and each time the Welsh responded to close the gap back into the match by touching down one of their own almost straight away.
Each try was completed by Scarlets’ wing Rogers, establishing him as the inaugural Welsh player to achieve a triple against New Zealand. However, the efforts also to his teammates, notably Tomos Williams, who made one with a tricky precision kick, Rees-Zammit, who created another with a superb catch, and Hawkins, assisting the final try using a accurate long pass.
Early in the second half, they were separated by three points, separated by a sole kick by the All Blacks' kicker dividing the sides. Two of New Zealand’s three tries came from lineouts, including a basic finish by the winger, and a more routine score from the forward following a forward push. The other was a brilliant finish by the fullback, darting through a gap in the defence aided by a feint and a sidestep, and sprinted a long distance for the try.
Game Overview
- Wales Murray; Rees-Zammit, Llewellyn, Hawkins, Rogers (Tompkins 55); Edwards (Evans 68), Williams (Hardy 68); Carré (G Thomas 52), Lake (Coghlan 76), Assiratti (Griffin 52), Jenkins, Beard (F Thomas 70), Mann, Deaves (Morse 68), Plumtree
- Sin-bins penalties for infringements
- Tries three from Rogers, one from Rees-Zammit
- Conversions points from conversions
- Visiting Team Love (Reece 55); Jordan, Ioane, Lienert-Brown (Fainga’anuku 68), Clarke; McKenzie, Ratima (Christie 55); Williams (Bower 55), Taukei’aho (Bell 65), Tosi (Newell 55), Barrett, Holland (Lord 64), Parker, Kirifi (Lio-Willie 68), Sititi
- Tries a variety of try-scorers
- Kicks McKenzie 7
- Penalty kick McKenzie
Official the referee was Hollie Davidson
Crowd over 68,000
At this stage that New Zealand shifted into another level. They added three scores in a short burst. Two didn't count, one for a knock-on, another after replays indicated Rogers just succeeded to prevent the score. However, the third, which wasn’t awarded as the official suspected there had been an infringement from a kick across, was confirmed to the center after replays on TV.
From then on, things started to deteriorate. To start, the prop received a a yellow card, when he reentered, Plumtree went off too.
The All Blacks added three more in the final quarter, two by Sevu Reece. Yet the Welsh side to respond once more on their own, after some superb work from Murray and Louis Rees-Zammit. The atmosphere intensified then, despite the fact the score was against them, they felt pride to celebrate something to cheer for, and a view of initial signs of development facing one of the elite sides.
