Despite Wales’s best 40 minutes performance in years – the Red Dragons could not quell the now expected second half All Black fight back.
Indeed, their withering second half responses have has now become the most prominent weapon in the All Blacks tactical arsenal. In their last three matches on tour they have kept their opposition from breaching their line and are showing the classic All Black match potency – that no matter how good a half of rugby you throw at New Zealand, they only need a sublime 40 minutes to beat any rugby opposition in the world.
Here was the All Blacks returning to Cardiff, a site of some horror. While they had never lost to Wales at the grand stage of Millennium stadium, it was here some thirteen months ago that they had lost to Les Bleus in the 2007 World Cup which they had been anointed to win.
But since then the All Blacks have only lost twice, in the dying minutes to South Africa at Dunedin and in Sydney to the Wallabies in their only comprehensive defeat in many years. But since then New Zealand has conquered all before them, the victory last night being taking their 2008 ledger to a significant 13-2 win loss record.
To inspire his Welsh charges during the week, Coach Warren Gatland did his upmost to convince his players of the All Blacks vulnerabilities. Essentially, the Welsh and the world knew that this was an All Blacks team superior in all departments to their opposition – but if the Red Dragons got in the All Blacks faces and stayed there, the painful memories of last year’s Cardiff terror may resurface.
At the beginning of the match, it appeared as if this would be the case, with the new Kapo O Hanga haka being performed to a Welsh side in silent vigil that stood fast at the conclusion of the traditional war dance. For minutes the teams stood unflinching – even ignoring referee Jonathan Kaplan’s firm calls to begin the match. Awesome sights!
In the first half it was very much the Grand Slamming Red Dragons that had roared their fury down the valleys as they tore into the black invaders which would have made the Welsh legends proud. They were brutal at the breakdown, and gave little compromise at the tackle. Even more than the Springboks and Wallabies had, the Welsh put New Zealand under real pressure.
But if the Welsh had played their best rugby of the year to shut out the world’s best team – then the All Blacks decided in the second half to truly exhibit what it is to take a game by the scruff of the neck.
While it seemed at half time that 2008 would go down alongside 1953, 1935 or 1905 as a year that the Welsh managed to beat the mythical All Blacks, courtesy of sublime performances by Stephen Jones and Martyn Williams – it showed that while Wales have grown as one of the only world teams to effectively shut down New Zealand for 40 minutes, it showed how far they have to evolve if they are to challenge the marker that the All Blacks lay down every year between World Cups.
In the second half, it was all New Zealand. They completely dominated possession and territory, holding nearly an 80% advantage. The All Black pack, matched for the first half, found another gear in the second led by the superb Richie McCaw, surely who must wonder why he has not been shortlisted to be the IRB’s world player of the year. This is a further travesty when considering that two Welsh players, Ryan Jones and Shane Williams have been selected for the award.
But – while we can avoid the cliché of the game of two halves, we cannot shun the greatest truism of any sport; all details of a game are irrelevant except for the scoreboard.
For the fourth straight game the All Blacks kept their opposition scoreless in the second half, scoring 23-0 in what coach Graham Henry regarded as the best half of rugby New Zealand has put together all year.
Welsh supremo Gatland had remarked that Wales had two goals, to bring the best out of New Zealand and of course, defeat them. While it appears that the second goal will indeed be a while from occurring – there was no doubt that the primary achievement was ticked.
For as good as the first half was from the Red Dragons, it ultimately fuelled the All Blacks to hit top gear for the first time in the European tour – something that had them winning their thirteenth win of the season, and one victory away from a third ever Grand Slam and a champagne 2008.
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