Player ratings: Dragons slayed
Wales started off breathing fire, but ultimate the Red Dragons were slayed in the most efficient fashion by a New Zealand team that had the game wrapped up by the end of the first half.
The Welshmen rallied late in the game and scored two consolation tries, but still lost 10-33 to an All Black team that is simply in a class of its own at the moment.
Few of the Welsh players will have their reputation intact after this game and those are probably the two who left field in the second minute with injuries – lock Bradley Davies, who was flattened by a cheap shot from Andrew Hore, and prop Aaron Jarvis, who injured his knee.
Jan de Koning rates the Welsh players!
15 Leigh Halfpenny:
Tried to get involved and had a couple of decent runs, but his hands let him down on occasion. He certainly troubled the New Zealand defences, but also missed a couple of tackles.
6/10
14 Alex Cuthbert:
His stats almost look impressive when it says he had nine runs for 56 metres gained. But then he missed three tackles, which makes it a bad day at the office.
5/10
13 Jonathan Davies:
His hands let him down when Wales were looking dangerous inside the All Black 22. However, there was a classic break from inside his own 22 late in the first half, that showed how dangerous he can be.
5/10
12 Jamie Roberts:
Let his team down by failing to control the ball when they had the Kiwis under pressure near their own 22. Then left the field towards the end of the first quarter with a hip injury. A forgetful 19 minutes on the field.
4/10
11 Liam Williams:
Huge hit when he came out of line and nailed Israel Dagg, to stop a very dangerous All Black attack. Another big hit towards the end of the first half, when he won a turnover again. He did slip one tackle and conceded a couple of penalties, but was the best of the Welsh backs on defence.
6/10
10 Rhys Priestland:
His out-of-hand kicking was really a mixed bag – from the sublime to the ridiculous. His handling was not always that secure either. Also missed three tackles.
3/10
9 Mike Phillips:
He may be big and strong, but his basic skills are very poor for a scrumhalf. A No.9 that has to turn around to pass can't be much value to his team – it just allows the opposition that extra couple of seconds on defence. It also negates the hard work he does on defence.
3/10
8 Toby Faletau:
One of the team's unsung heroes. He had plenty of runs, making 75 metres and almost always got over the advantage line. Then he also had the highest tackle count of all the Welsh players.
7/10
7 Sam Warburton (captain):
Silly decisions not to go for posts with early penalties – a couple of those went dead in-goal and cost his team certain points. Then pushed the envelope a bit too much at the breakdown and was penalised. However, he also got reward with a penalty turnover.
5/10
6 Ryan Jones:
Forced to move to lock in the second minute and struggled throughout the game. He worked hard, but also missed too many tackles.
5/10
5 Luke Charteris:
He had a really high tackle count, second most tackles of the Welsh players, but he also missed a couple. Took a couple of line-outs.
6/10
4 Bradley Davies:
Flattened by a cheap shot from Andrew Hore and left the field in the second minute.
3 Aaron Jarvis:
Injured his knee in the second minute and forced to leave the field.
2 Matthew Rees:
Was ineffective with ball in hand, seldom getting over the advantage line. His basic skills as a hooker are also poor.
4/10
1 Paul James:
Under pressure in the scrums and eventually penalised. Very ineffective with ball in hand and made only a couple of tackles.
4/10
Replacements:
16 Ken Owens (on for Rees, 64th min) :
No real impact on the game in his short stint.
17 Gethin Jenkins (on for James, 56th min):
Penalised again at scrum time – serial offender and very poor in the basics of his job, the set pieces.
4/10
18 Scott Andrews (on for Jarvis, 2nd min):
He had a few runs, without making any real metres, and put in a handful of tackles.
5/10
19 Aaron Shingler (on for Davies, 2nd min):
While he was, like most Welshmen, stopped in his tracks when carrying the ball, he made a fair number of tackles and took four line-outs.
6/10
20 Justin Tipuric (on for Jones, 49th min):
He tried to make an impact and worked hard, but struggled to cope with the physical nature of the All Black game.
5/10
21 Tavis Knoyle (on for Phillips, 54th min):
His service was just so much better than the ponderous Phillips. It is not a surprise Wales suddenly started to get momentum on attack.
7/10
22 James Hook (on for Priestland, 67th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Scott Williams (on for Roberts, 19th min):
Had a couple of impressive runs, breaking a few tackles and did not slip any tackles on defence.
6/10
