Wales put on a far more impressive showing this weekend as they gained respect for the way they didn’t allow the All Blacks to run away with things. The home side still came out comfortable 29-10 winners though, taking the two match series 2-0.
Flyhalf Dan Carter kicked 17 points to add to his 29 point haul in the first Test, taking his personal points tally to 150 in his eighth match against the Welsh.
Winger Corey Jane scored for New Zealand in the first half, with young Aaron Cruden crossing late in the match. After sustained pressure, Wales earned themselves a nice try to centre Jamie Roberts.
The game was riddled with errors and lacked the dynamic running that weve come to expect from both sides when at the top of their game. It was a good battle though, with Wales fronting up to what locked likely to be another All Black rout.
“It was a tough Test and we just had to chip away and take points when they were on offer. I guess it was comfortable in the end and though it wasn’t perfect it was a Test win,” said All Black captain Richie McCaw.
Jonathan Thomas finished the match as Wales captain after Ryan Jones went off injured.
“We took a lot of stick in the media about our fitness last week but I think we showed tonight we’re not that far short of the All Blacks. We finished pretty strongly and I think we just have to learn and keep improving,” said Thomas.
“We were a bit disappointed in the way we fell off tackles in the second half last week. We played with more intensity this week and we were a bit disappointed our discipline cost us in the second half. All week we talked about gaining some respect and I think we did that tonight.”
Are the Welsh fans happy with the way the side took it to the All Blacks, or are you disappointed about the tour in general? What about New Zealand – will the number 1 ranked side in the world come out as Tri Nations winners this year?
Highlights of the other matches will follow soon. If there are any incidents from this or other games that you’d like featured, please get in touch via email.
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Time:
05:05
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