Wales fall short against New Zealand again after Smith and Savea lead rout

over 1 year in The guardian

Wales 23-55 New ZealandRio Dyer shines on Wales debut but All Blacks too strongSo much for the idea that the All Blacks would be vulnerable. They opened the European leg of their autumn tour with an emphatic win over Wales. It was a brilliantly entertaining game but, for all the excitement, one which ended up going the same way as the previous 32 these two sides have played over the past seven decades. Wales had good reason to hope it would be different given that New Zealand have lost four Tests this year, but in the end the All Blacks were much too sharp for a team who were playing their first Test in three months.New Zealand were 20-0 up after 20 minutes through two short range tries by Codie Taylor, a penalty and a pair of conversions by Richie Mo’unga. The tries sprang out of small Wales mistakes: one was started by the superb Ardie Savea after he ripped the ball off Ken Owens deep in New Zealand’s own half, the other by Aaron Smith after he scragged Tomos Williams off the back of a Welsh scrum in midfield. At that point, Wales were in danger of being utterly overwhelmed. Continue reading...

Share it on