Gregor Paul: Black wall too strong for luckless Welsh

The All Blacks preserved their 56-year record against Wales this morning on the back of the most ferocious defensive effort.

For Wales, it must have felt like a cyclist ploughing through a swarm of flies with an open mouth. There was this black cloud smothering them; choking them; denying them.

It was relentless. A performance that says not only is the structure and technique all in pace - so too the attitude and desire to win.

Wales had ample possession. They had the territory, too. But in the end, they didn't have the class, the vision or the trickery to find any holes.

Nor did they have much luck that it happened to be Alun-Wyn Jones who made the intercept on 77 minutes. The big lock picked off Jimmy Cowan's pass inside his own 22 and put his foot to the floor. He kept going and going and made it to the All Black 22 before Zac Guildford jumped on him. Had it been an outside back, life would be entirely different.

To be scrambling with such intensity in the closing stages was both a sign of the All Blacks heart and also the quality of Wales who were deserving of something from more.

Their lineout was superb. They scrimmaged well and they were inventive and clever with the ball. Stephen Jones and James Hook also used the high kick to great effect and tactically and technically it was impossible to fault them.

For the first time in years, the Welsh didn't drift out of the contest in the final quarter due to a lack of conditioning. Coach Warren Gatland is a believer in fielding fit teams and his influence was obvious.

If anything, it was the All Black forwards who were blowing hard in those last 10 minutes.

Maybe that was only to be expected, though, given how much they had put in defensively. Tackling is a tough business. That's what kills the lungs, makes the muscles burn and draws oxygen away from the brain. The constant slog of hitting the man and then getting back to your feet.

For the All Blacks to absorb so much and still win, says everything about their prospects on the rest of this tour.

To beat them, it won't be enough to just have possession. Their opponents are going to have to come up with ways to make it count.

They are also going to have to come up with a way to negate the influence of the All Black forwards at the tackled ball. There was some neat work at the breakdown that was also a killer for Wales. When they pushed the ball wide on the third or fourth phase, it was easy pickings for the All Blacks. They had greater numbers over the ball and they were able to frustrate Wales; slow their momentum by regularly pinching ball they had no right getting their hands on.

It was that strength in the collision that allowed the All Blacks to score the only try of the game - the critical difference between the two as it turned out. A nice series of phases saw a numerical advantage develop on the left flank where Andre Hore did what he is best at - he got his hands on the pill, put his head down and stayed strong. That ability to stay on his feet long enough for the support to get in behind him was too much for Wales to defend. Over the hooker went and the All Blacks had the daylight they were after to start thinking about spreading the ball more than they had.

They were unfortunate to not be awarded another score on 65 minutes when Conrad Smith appeared to have rolled over the chalk and another ruling went against them in the same period.

As the All Blacks pressed in the closing 10 minutes to put the contest beyond doubt, Jones made his dash for glory and Wales saw they were still in it... Two Stephen Jones penalties gave them real hope of snatching a draw but that black wall never crumbled.