By Liam Napier in Cardiff
All Blacks 52 Wales 26
The All Blacks finished their season with another late flourish to ease their burden but victory over Wales won’t be enough to drastically alter the complexion of their year.
One week after their humbling Twickenham defeat that crushed their Grand Slam hopes, the All Blacks eventually cruised to a comfortable win in Cardiff to maintain their 72-year unbeaten record against Wales.
With 13 starting changes, as Scott Robertson handed his fringe players game time in the final test of the year, the All Blacks were never going to produce a perfect performance but they took some time to find any form of consistent rhythm as the spirited Welsh stuck with them for 50 minutes.
By the finish the All Blacks scored seven tries but it’s a mark of their frailties that Wales claimed four of their own – three to left wing Tom Rogers – and had one fewer line breaks with just over 30% of the ball. This was also the second most points Wales have scored against the All Blacks after their 37 at the 2003 World Cup.
After a patchy first half and another troubling third quarter, the All Blacks found a brief groove against a side ranked 12th in the world that has won two games – both against Japan – from their last 22 tests to create two tries for Sevu Reece and one for Rieko Ioane to end their year on a positive note.
The argument for genuine progression, though, is much harder to make. Three losses from 13 matches isn’t a terminal record by any stretch but the Twickenham result will continue to haunt the All Blacks.
The All Blacks were supremely dominant in possession, carries, post contact metres, forcing Wales to make 143 more tackles, but a lack of execution hurt their ability to put the locals away.
Constant pressure eventually told, though, as Wales conceded two second-half yellow cards that paved the way for the All Blacks to kick clear in front of a typically passionate 68,388 crowd at the Principality Stadium.
Individually, man of the match Wallace Sititi and Caleb Clarke impressed with high involvement and depth is growing but, as a collective, the All Blacks clearly have vast improvements to make.
Their quarter woes hit again as Wales closed within three points following Rogers’ hat-trick that exposed the All Blacks’ right-side defence.
The All Blacks were denied two second-half tries to Clarke and Will Jordan. The first after a Du’Plessis Kirifi knockout at the breakdown and the second after another painstaking TMO process deemed Jordan was held up, despite Scottish referee Hollie Davidson saying she had seen the ball grounded on the line.
They eventually got it right with Ioane providing the breakthrough in the corner – and Reece bagging his brace off the bench to ensure there would be no famous Welsh victory.
The All Blacks were at their best when they used forwards to punch hard and direct on the carry.
For much of the year the All Blacks have largely asked their forwards to dish out the backdoor at the line to create space for their playmakers.
On this occasion, though, they found success tucking the ball and carrying through Wales’ defensive line with Samisoni Taukei’aho, Sititi and Simon Parker all contributing. Such simple, traditional ball carrying laid the platform for the first of Clarke’s two tries.
The All Blacks found space on the edge but so, too, was their attack clunky at times with balls hitting the ground, individuals dropping passes and Damian McKenzie looking around at times for options from first receiver.
The All Blacks improved under the high ball but the familiar sight of a spill from a hoist, this time from McKenzie, allowed Wales to strike back with the first of Rogers’ brace.
While the All Blacks dominated possession, skill execution wasn’t always where it needed to be from the All Blacks which kept Wales in the contest.
The All Blacks also needed a desperate, try-saving play from prop Pasilio Tosi who, after stopping Welsh prop Rhys Carre, sprang to his feet to gain the turnover penalty with the line in sight.
A piece of individual brilliance from Ruben Love – a step, speed and fend – pushed the All Blacks clear but Rogers’ second maintained Welsh hope.
Tamaiti Williams barged his way over to make amends for an earlier error and scrum infringement to hand the All Blacks a 10-point halftime advantage that they eventually grew to an insurmountable margin.
The All Blacks will enjoy this victory that will lift some form of lingering frustrations but when the time comes to reflect, the reality of a disappointing season will be impossible to escape.
All Blacks 52: Caleb Clarke, Ruben Love, Tamaiti Williams, Rieko Ioane, Sevu Reece 2 tries, Damian McKenzie con 5, pen
Wales 26: Tom Rogers 3 tries, Dan Edwards con 3
HT: 14-24