New Zealand: Pile on the misery for struggling Wales
Related links
Teams
Also see
Wales slumped to a sixth consecutive defeat after going down 33-10 to New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
Predictions the All Blacks' attack would incinerate Wales' defence came to fruition in the first half especially. However even though the scoreline may read otherwise, it was a much better effort from the Welsh - the second half especially.
Be that as it may, coach Warren Gatland must have been shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he contemplated another difficult week following the home side's previous November defeats.
The hosts never threatened to end a 59-year drought at the hands of their southern hemisphere rivals, and their hopes were all but dashed by half-time when the clinical All Blacks put the result beyond doubt thanks to a 23-0 lead.
It proved too big a mountain for Wales to climb in the second half, though - bouyed by their parochial crowd in full voice - showed plenty of character and determination to fight back and outscore the world champions two tries to nill. There were no fist-pumps, high fives or backslaps from New Zealand after the final whistle as they knew that were some way from their best after being held 10-10 after the break.
The game couldn't have started any worse for Wales after losing two players two minutes into the contest. First, Bradley Davies was taken out from behind by All Blacks hooker Andrew Hore and the lock was forced off looking extremely light-headed.
Then tighthead prop Aaron Jarvis followed suit after injuring his knee.
To make matters even worse, All Blacks pivot Aaron Cruden was in fine touch with the boot and racked up a 9-0 lead for his team in the opening quarter before Israel Dagg broke from inside his 22 to link up with Julian Savea who raced into Wales' dangerzone. And just moments later, Conrad Smith was putting flank Liam Messam over for the opening try.
Wales came close to scoring after a trademark Jonathan Davies break brought the crowd on their feet, only for prop Paul James to return them to their seats after knocking the ball on. The Welsh didn't do themselves any favours later on as on two occasions Rhys Priestland missed the corner with penalties.
There was to be more pain for the Welsh to endure when Tony Woodcock went over for New Zealand's second try off the back of the same line-out move that saw the prop score in the World Cup final.
The deficit became 26 points just after the break as Cruden added another penalty, before a superb passing movement and a fine finish in the corner from Luke Romano gave New Zealand their third try. Cruden's conversion was his seventh successful kick from seven.
Wales finally got on the scoresheet just before the hour when full-back Leigh Halfpenny did find the corner with a penalty, Wales committed almost their entire team to the line-out drive and inside centre Scott Williams went over.
Wales had more of the game in the final quarter, particularly after Cory Jane was sin-binned for a deliberate knock on, and did cross again through Alex Cuthbert in the closing moments - but long before then the result was no longer in doubt.
Man of the match: Aaron Cruden and Conrad Smith were the pick of the New Zealand backs, but it was difficult to overlook loose forward Richie McCaw - who was his usual industrious self - as our man of the match. He was immense, smashing bodies in defence and proving to be the Kiwis everywhere man.
Moment of the match: Wales' first try only served to spark the hosts into action, and from there on in the Welsh raised their game.
Villain of the match: Andrew Hore's cheap shot from behind will surely interest citing commissioner Mike Rafter.
The scorers:
For Wales:
Tries: S Williams, Cuthbert
For New Zealand:
Tries: Messam, Woodcock, Romano
Cons: Cruden 3
Pens: Cruden 4
Yellow card: Jane (59th minute)
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 James Hook, 23 Scott Williams.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ben Smith.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Comments
eddie says...
There there Rico, never mind.
Have a horlicks and a lie down, it'll help soothe all of those conspiracy theories eating away at you.
Its so predictable that you can set your watch to all the same old trotted out 'reasons' why those pesky Blacks win the Autumn Internationals ie serial cheats, ref bias, crop circles etc.
I don't condone Hores' hit at all but are you saying every other team running around are total angels?
Posted 07:40 25th November 2012
ABlack says...
33-10 enough said.....
Posted 06:27 25th November 2012
rico says...
Was B Davies targeted? only Hore knows why he did that. At least stand up to a man if you are going to have a crack - cheap shots from behind are henious and cowardly. jmangod you are an idiot. and mace. accept hore actions aren't welcome on a rugby pitch or in society. idiots
Posted 05:42 25th November 2012
rico says...
"NZ again win, but every time they win there is a little bitter taste" - Eddie Butler - and he's right NZ don't need the cynism/playing the ref/borderline play/cheating whatever you want to call it ....they will win without it. If there was no issue then we wouldn't still all talking about it - it's been prevalent in their game since professionalism with this 'win at all cost mantra'. Red Zone offences are particularly frustrating for opposition fans - v cynical plays often just delaying monentum for split second (offside, lying on, hands in etc - never enough to get fully penalised (too quick for ref to spot maybe) but just enough everytime. Maybe a new penalty of "2 laps round the pitch patting yourself on the back for preventing a try by cheating" for redzone penalties! But almost every game they give everybody the opportunity to knock them with this stupid type of play - the first 20mins the All Blacks (Read/McxCaw/C Smith/Nonu) Reffed the game for Joubert with calling descisions for him waving arms in the air/pointing until he blew his whistle in their favour..He pinged Warbs for doing what McCaw did exactly the same 5 mins earlier and then later on in the game Warbs had his hands on the bal tugging and tugging and CJ took an absolute age to finally award holding on - crazy - almost as if he didn't want to penalise ABs so close to Wales line. Wales' tactics were beyond ridiculous and poor execution excasberated their ridiculousness - to miss potential 6 point lead and then ABs just doing the obvious and pinging all the points when available just phycologically changes the game, Basic. 10-10 in 2nd half showed some potential to get a result against the Aussies next week but NZ had stepped of the gas big style and made a lot of changes.
Posted 05:41 25th November 2012
ferdie says...
a common pattern from posters - let's blame the ref!
this thread- blame Joubert
samples:
Eng-SA: Nigel Owens had a moronic performance
Fra-Samoa: worst refereing I have ever seen
Italy-Oz: refereeing at international level continues to get worse
Ire-Arg: ref . . .let Argentina away with everything he gave them pity points
and so it goes on.
Week after week . . . the conspiracies eg a South African ref with a French ref manager (Jutge) who is determined to favour NZ . . . of course, all SA and French people have a special place in their heart for NZ.
Keep up the good work!
Posted 04:38 25th November 2012
cuw3100 says...
Sorry meant to say "who needs DC when there is AC."
Posted 04:01 25th November 2012
cuw3100 says...
Congrats MIB. That is one of the best TEAM TRIES seen this year :)
And who needs DV , when there is AC. His running game is improving and reminds me of Merhtens... silky !!!
Posted 04:01 25th November 2012
three6three6 says...
This is a good result for the All Blacks.... but Hore will be in serious trouble.... there is no doubt that he will not be playing against England. We can only hope that Bradley Davies recovers quickly. There is little doubt that this would have been a red card had the referee and / or assistant referees seen the offence. But the offence was very difficult to see even in slow motion.... the best camera angle was the shot from directly behind Hore & Davies.
Wales failed to turn pressure into points.... they should have kicked the early penalties rather than taking lineouts. Early points could have made all the difference.
Let us all hope that Wales are able to turn the intensity up another notch against the Wallabies next weekend. Meanwhile the All Blacks play England at HQ. Will England be able to score points in other than multiples of three?
Posted 03:45 25th November 2012
isthatrightref says...
Just seen the vid of Hore's shocker (Fox haven't posted the highlights package yet) & there's no doubt in my mind that we should've been down to 14 from that moment on: wtf were the AR's looking at & why didn't the TMO get into the ref's ear? No place in the game for this kind of rubbish, I'm hoping Hore gets whatever the max for this is & of course that Davies is OK.
@ mace & other apologists... you cannot be serious, surely? Or are you disappointed Davies didn't have his neck broken?
Posted 02:28 25th November 2012
hellovanite says...
Hore.... what a ?!*!!@% idiot! On the plus side for Wales J Davies, S Williams, T Faletau, and A Cuthbert take a bow. I thought Davies was a real threat in midfield and S Williams just came on gave it his all. Look the positives are Wales can play the expansive game and so far they have done the best on this tour against the ABs in the last 20 minutes. Execution let them down, 2 silly line kicks in goal by Priestland certainly didn't help. They starter taking it up on first phase looking to off load late in the second half and if they can maintain and improve on what they did in the last 20 they will go well in the 6N. But then it is an 80 minute game and as with all that I have seen from the NH teams the full 80 at non-stop intensity is currently just beyond them. I know the ABs had it won by half time but they are a team cemented in pride and 2nd half credit needs to be given to Wales who thought outside the square and applied pressure. Still ABs are currently like a first division team that only has second division opposition. Hore should go for a few weeks for that moment of idiocy, must of thought he was fishing and got a glimpse of a stray seal. Not a good look, apologies to Wales and their supporters!
Posted 02:19 25th November 2012
hellovanite says...
Hore.... what a ?!*!!@% idiot! On the plus side for Wales J Davies, S Williams, T Faletau, and A Cuthbert take a bow. I thought Davies was a real threat in midfield and S Williams just came on gave it his all. Look the positives are Wales can play the expansive game and so far they have done the best on this tour against the ABs in the last 20 minutes. Execution let them down, 2 silly line kicks in goal by Priestland certainly didn't help. They starter taking it up on first phase looking to off load late in the second half and if they can maintain and improve on what they did in the last 20 they will go well in the 6N. But then it is an 80 minute game and as with all that I have seen from the SH teams the full 80 at non-stop intensity is currently just beyond them. I know the ABs had it won by half time but they are a team cemented in pride and 2nd half credit needs to be given to Wales who thought outside the square and applied pressure. Still ABs are currently like a first division team that only has second division opposition. Hore show go for a few weeks for that moment of idiocy, must of thought he was fishing and got a glimpse of a stray seal. Not a good look, apologies to Wales and their supporters!
Posted 02:17 25th November 2012
nzmaoriboy says...
Good intense game of rugby! Wales were playing with a lot more passion than previous weeks & were hitting rucks with intensity. A couple of stand out performers! Both welsh wingers went well as did Davies at center (younger version of Conrad smith). As to the Neg/excuse comments particularly about the referee'n..I would accept that if it were a 3 point match! but alas it wasn't..so toughen up. As to Hore think it was more Dumb than malice..though he should expect a holiday! was no where near as bad as Greylings.. nor was it a punch! as some SAD-SAP-GOODY-GOOD poster seems to have claimed! It Was a reckless swinging arm & Hore should expect 2 weeks. There were enough flashes there for Wales to work with..Well the AB's were just simply BETTER..Wales may have been better served doing more skill's training's as testament to their many dropped balls rather than heading to Poland to jump into a freezer. Good game boys see yall next week
Posted 01:29 25th November 2012
Ramage says...
I really don't know what Hore was thinking about and why he did that. I thought the Blacks had left that kind of play behind . Obviously not and no doubt after joining the ranks of the trolls I could suggest he will receive a lengthy ban as I'm sure Gosper will have already been in touch with the Judicial Officer appointed for the game as he will no doubt be cited. Maybe he might be lucky as the trolls on here believe the IRB favour the Blacks. In any case he will and should receive a lengthy ban.
To those worried that the Blacks are down on hookers, if Meleamu is still injured, I do not see that Coles inclusion will bring any relief to the English side as this player is a very good ball carrier and does his job very well. I also believe the word will already have gone out to Hika Elliott to remain in the UK so I believe the position is well covered.
As for the Joubert haters once again your lack of knowledge of the laws of the game and your own biased interpretations show up. Im not saying he didnt make mistakes one only has to watch Nigel Owens',another good referee, display to see that. I was disappointed at the ignorance of the Welsh crowd who bayed every time their team was correctly penalised.
The Blacks played a very simple and clinical game and it seemed they were playing to some very strict instructions. I would guess Hansen was adament that no way was he going to come away from Wales with a loss. However the way the forwards and Blacks can combine to pass the ball around is the class of this Blacks team when the passes stuck there were some glorious movements.
As for Cruden, well Carpelone you dont rate him., Is it because it is Cruden? Or is it because you put him up against Carter and as he's not at that particular level yet, he is not rated by you? Despite your rating which are highly debateable he showed today he is far better than Priestland.
Posted 00:56 25th November 2012
kpe12 says...
Not impressed with Hore's awful attack on a player. However Ritchie after being cleared out and landing on the leg of the Welsh prop was world class when he came over to offer condolences.
I hear a lot of people complaining about the ABs constantly rolling into the halfback or slowing ball down... The ABs commit 1 or 2 to rucks and get up and roll away ASAP. It's the other teams of the world that need to learn from this. This is why the ABs defence is immense. (I also thought that the ABs player very positive on defence with very little spoiling, most of their turnovers came from pressure defence).
The first try, the pass was marginal (rewatched on reply) but positive play streaking away from the ref will always get the call. I actually thought Savea put his hand in touch, obviously too fast for the touchie. Penalties in the first 20 were tough on Wales, however this goes back to defence style. ABs make very few steals, pressure defence turnovers. Other teams will try and poach and compete. This is the 50/50 area where you risk getting penalised off the park (poor Wales).
Still not convinced on Savea, but happy that Messam is having a massive year.
Posted 00:43 25th November 2012
celticspirit says...
Mace, where ever you are from, just leave PlanetRugby for your brainless comments here. And I dont mean the website... Incredible.
Hore should be punished severely as should be anyone making light of thuggery.
Still, I have to say generalising this (and admittedly the Umanga on BOD speaktackle) to "AllBlacks deliberately take out opposition players at the beginning of matches" is just plain ridiculous as is calling all the SH teams cheats. Just live with the fact that they (mainly NZ, truth be told) play the better Rugby - and that you find thugs everywhere unfortunately...
Well done ABs, all in all, though if I were the coach I would be worried about some uncharacteristic knock-ons etc. when there was no real pressure...
Posted 00:32 25th November 2012
ferdie says...
a below average performance from NZ, but actually an average score - 107 years, 28 tests and the average score is 30-10, so nothing to get excited about there. NZ looked bored in that second half, got the points, and waiting for the 80th minute, lack of focus and don't know that emptying the subs bench achieved anything apart from the needed replacements for Woodcoock and Aaron Smith.
Hore - eight weeks would do, crazy stuff. Hika Eliot should get another chance next week with Dane Coles if Mealamu still out injured.
How many times did Wales kick to Jane, Dagg and Savea? Sure Savea wasn't always 100%, but not the ebst tactic against that back 3. Ball in hand!
Posted 00:32 25th November 2012
Ramage says...
@jameslivesin hope Isnt it interesting that you see that it is only the SH teams who make all these dastardly mistakes or who play outside the rules. Oh sorry you do mention that Wales have done it. So I suppose you are an Englishman probably one who goes to Twickers Old Chap and sits there and grinds out that boring old dirge Swing low seet chariot. No doubt you applaude the endless string of penalties the Northern Referees who strut round thinking they are the most important man on the field, dish out and applaud with gusto. No doubt you enjoy the borefest games like England and South Africa dished up on Saturday where England seemed incapable of stringing together a series of moves that even gave the hint of a try. If you think Im being cynical well I am. Your attitude is one that reeks of English arrogance and then you wonder why everyone loves beating the English. Have a look at your lily white angelic English team and tell me whether they are the innocent pure rugby players you seem to think they are. Sure players offend and they are picked up for it or it is missed. The comments you make are those of a sad Englishman who cant keep up with the changes in the game. I suggest you have a look atthe way the Blacks play next week and enjoy the way they movre the ball about the way tyhe forwards can throw a pass and the sheer delight many have in the game they play. Have a look at the way the English players will try to slow down the passage of the ball with their own illegal play and go back and have a look at how many times Welsh players came through the rucks and mauls and took out All Blacks from those riuckes and mauls and hung on to them or tackled them without the ball so they could not assist in getting their own ball. My point to you jameslivesinhope is that its time you took off your blinkers and stopped the nonsense that it is only the SH teams who offend.
Posted 00:28 25th November 2012
Golden_statenba says...
Interesting game.
ABs did pretty much wrap it up in the first half then took the foot off the gas(maybe a little to much)and won it pretty easy.
That's another thing I have noticed. The ABs have had a long year and a big game next week so why risk ingury and exhaustion?
That's the way they have worked it all year get the points on the board do enough then slow the pace down.
Hore will be gone and good riddance. Stupid thing to do
Onto England!
Could be an undefeated year!
Posted 00:19 25th November 2012
three6three6 says...
Wales have done what few teams have done in recent memory - scored two tries against the mighty All Blacks. The Bokke do not regualrly score two or more tries against the ABs and neither do the Wallabies. Scotland also managed to score three tries against the ABs. In any event Wales did create further try scoring opportunities and were playing well towards the end of this match.
England will struggle against the ABs for bo other reason than there lack of try scoring ability. We should also expect the ABs to put England away rather easily.
Posted 00:18 25th November 2012
Internationalxv says...
Best team won. Right team won. Hore offered a cheap shot and it has no place in the game, but it did not alter the outcome...NZ are simply that good and that much better than any other team...lets just appreciate that play. They push the rest of us to a higher level just like Tiger did (past tense) with golf...or the Ausdie cricket team.
The only time a team would opt for a 13 man maul would be after the game was already lost. Wales were 30 odd points down and had nothing to lose. Good on them but hardly inspirational stuff as the result was already decided.
Posted 00:18 25th November 2012