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Untouchable: Mils Muliaina scores for the All Blacks
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Teams
- New Zealand
- Wales
Also see
- Minute-by-minute from Cardiff
- Henry hails record-breaking Carter
Wales made New Zealand work hard for their Grand Slam decider, with the visitors eventually running out 37-25 winners in Cardiff.
Dan Carter broke Jonny Wilkinson's world Test points record at the Millennium Stadium as the All Blacks completed their third Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in six seasons.
All Blacks fly-half Carter missed four first-half kicks, but an early long-range penalty took him past England star Wilkinson's mark of 1,178.
Wales gave the red-hot 2011 World Cup favourites a real fright though, trailing 13-12 early in the second period after Carter's opposite number Stephen Jones landed four penalties.
But the All Blacks displayed their renowned ruthless streak when it mattered, with Hosea Gear scoring two tries - his second when substitute Daniel Braid was in the sin-bin - while full-back Mils Muliaina, Gear's fellow wing Isaia Toeava and substitute prop John Afoa also touched down.
Carter added three conversions and two penalties, and Jones slotted two more three-pointers, plus a conversion of full-back Lee Byrne's well-worked late try to see him finish with 20 points.
But Wales have now lost 24 successive games against New Zealand and gone seven matches without a win since beating Italy in last season's Six Nations Championship.
They can take a degree of comfort from their fiercely-committed display, a quality they will again need in abundance when opening Six Nations opponents England arrive in Cardiff on February 4.
Scrum-half Mike Phillips, flanker Sam Warburton and centre Tom Shanklin all delivered powerful performances, yet Wales ultimately went the same way as England, Scotland and Ireland this month, beaten comfortably by the best team on planet rugby.
Wales took the lead inside two minutes when Jones slotted a penalty after he was tackled late by Gear.
The All Blacks wing turned his ankle after landing awkwardly following the challenge, but he soon ran it off by punishing Wales with a soft fifth-minute try.
Missed tackles by Shanklin and wing George North on Toeava gifted New Zealand an opportunity, and Gear went over unopposed in the corner.
Carter missed the touchline conversion attempt, yet he found his range just four minutes later from 49 metres to overtake Wilkinson and give the visitors an 8-3 advantage.
Gear's score served as a graphic reminder to Wales they could not afford such defensive lapses, but the lesson went unheeded.
New Zealand struck again midway through the first-half as Carter injected pace into a routine counter-attack, and Muliaina glided in from halfway, eluding half-hearted challenges from Wales flanker Dan Lydiate and his back-row colleague Ryan Jones.
Carter failed to convert - his third miss in four attempts - and that was just as well for Wales as the All Blacks built an imposing 10-point lead.
Wales showed glimpses of their renowned attacking ability, creating chances when they put width on the ball, but centre James Hook could not quite stretch over the line, knocking on under pressure from Muliaina's tackle.
Jones cut the with a second penalty, and with Wales enjoying territorial dominance, New Zealand had to step up their defensive work-rate.
The visitors were not helped when their influential number eight Kieran Read limped off just before the break, and Wales maintained impressive momentum as Jones completed his penalty hat-trick.
Carter then missed another kick on the stroke of half-time, ending a fast and furious opening period that saw Wales firmly in touch despite their misfiring lineout and occasional defensive fragility.
Wales, desperate to avoid going through their four-match autumn series without a win, gained fresh impetus with the arrival of back-row substitutes Andy Powell and Jonathan Thomas after 48 minutes.
The All Blacks were rattled, confirmed by Braid - Read's replacement - being yellow-carded for not rolling away after tackling Stephen Jones.
Jones brought Wales to within a point by booting the resulting penalty, yet it was the cue for New Zealand to step up intensity levels, and slick passing saw Gear claim his second try.
Carter added the extras and then kicked a penalty, but two more Jones penalties during a four-minute spell gave Wales renewed hope.
An upset briefly looked possible - then New Zealand emphatically snuffed out any prospect through late scores from Toeava and Afoa.
It was rough justice on Wales, and their frustration was underlined when Powell high-tackled All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw - an incident which could easily result in him being cited by match commissioner Rob Flockhart.
But they at least had the final word through Byrne's consolation effort that Jones improved, although New Zealand once again emerged victorious and extended an unbeaten record against Wales that stretches back to 1953.
The scorers:
For Wales:
Try: Byrne
Con: S Jones
Pens: S Jones 6
For New Zealand:
Tries: Gear 2, Muliaina, Toeava, Afoa
Cons: Carter 3
Pens: Carter 2
Wales: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 George North, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 James Hook, 11 Tom James, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees (c), 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Paul James, 18 Jonathan Thomas, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Martyn Williams, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Andrew Bishop.
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Isaia Toeava, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Daniel Braid, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Ma'a Nonu.
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland
Comments
danut says...
Dear rugby fans
Rugby is just more and more like soccer where money and interests prevails against justice and honor.
Remember that foot in the chest against a spanish player in the soccer WC final,and nothing happened!?
McCaw is well protected,isnt it?
Hartley and now Powell and nothing happened!?
Where is your prediction PR that Powell will be cited!?
The so called British GENTELMENS,where are you?
Governors of the game,where are you?
I do not see you,at all.........
I am waiting for an answer from you,Planet Rugby,a comment about powell not being cited!!
Just remember the saga of last year Carter high tackle...half as dangerous as powell..
Posted 14:07 29th November 2010
Blue says...
Allen Lewis in a munkey, one eyed patch he was.
Was he the same in our last grand slam where he gave the AB 3 sinbins one after each other where the AB played 50 minutes with 14 players Northern Hemisphere refs are all one eyed patches to all Southern Hemisphere teams
Posted 10:47 29th November 2010
rugbyspook88 says...
Great win by the AB's but that cheap high shot on McCaw was disgraceful. I am still waiting to hear whether there will be a citation. If that doesn't deserve a citation then really rugby has degenerated into a thugs game. How the ref failed to see it when he was watching the ball carrier (McCaw) the whole time is beyond me. He could have broken his jaw. It makes me cringe. Thanks planet rugby for largely white washing the incident. Time for your editor to make a stand against such thuggery on the rugby field. Be it a head butt by Mealamu, or a swinging arm head shot by Andy Powell. Both deserve lengthy suspensions.
Posted 09:07 29th November 2010
bigb69 says...
And we are still awaiting news of Andy Powell being cited....
McCaw was kneed in the head last year, the ABs received eye gouging from the French 2009, McCaw slapped in the face by Cooper after the last try in Hong Kong (in fact assaulted several times, thanks Trinats for that video), now he has got an elbow to the head after the whistle as he lay on the ground, no citing, and now smashed in the face by Powell. If this does not get cited then the NH nations throw away any moral authourity to talk about cheating, or complaining about any judiciary decision.
Posted 08:06 29th November 2010
mikeNZ1 says...
Rugbychivalry
Mealamu was cited & punished. All we're asking is why are opposition players seemingly allowed to take shots at the ABs with impunity? There's been several incidents on this tour with Hartley imo being the most astonishing.
Opposition fans, media & players repeated accusations of cheating, player poaching & preferential treatment have been clearly rebuffed on many occasions yet the same old cracked record keeps getting played. Any wonder we've become defensive? What do you want us to do? Just sit there & take this garbage?
It'd be be nice if people just accepted that the ABs were the best side in the world in 2010 as we accepted that SA were the best in 2009 instead of churning out the same tired old rhetoric as to why you failed to beat us.
Bring on 2011.
Posted 01:13 29th November 2010
mikeNZ1 says...
carpelone
I've said it on these boards before & I'll say it again.
Every test match matters. Regardless of whether or not there's a shiny prize at the end of the game you should be prepared to sweat blood every time you pull on your countrys jersey. There's no such thing as a friendly in rugby.
Yes it'd be nice to win the world cup but it's not the be all & end all. If the price of winning the world cup is mediocrity in between times (England) then the price is too high.
Posted 00:43 29th November 2010
superunknown says...
carpelone...
The TV sets were only black and white in South African at that time. The rest of us were already ok with colour.
Some progress to go as well, SA TV sets can still only be view with one eye.
Posted 20:57 28th November 2010
reado15 says...
@Kent
Sorry for my gramatical slip up. I am not whinging at all! Had it been accidental i wouldnt have cared less as those things happen. But it was obviously a blatant and malicious high shot that also went unpunished considering the 2 very marginal high tackles that got pulled up earlier in the game. BTW i am not advocating they should have been let go as anthing close to the head or neck could potentially be dangerous but they were dealt with accodingly.
But coping a forearm across the eyes from this Welsh maggot that was let go is inexcusable. There has been very little said about this tackle but had it been the other way around we would never hear the end of it aka the Brian ODriscoll "tackle gate" BS.
Posted 20:56 28th November 2010
hemip says...
at least this game throws out the whole, Referees backing the AB's conspiracy... Lol
Posted 19:54 28th November 2010
SBWAllblack says...
haha, all this talk about world cups.
A world cup is a knock out tournament where, lucky draws, one-off games, injuries and a multitude of other factors affect the outcome of the tournament. All this means is that any team has a chance of winning the tournament. AB, Boks, OZ all definitely have a chance, but its highly likely to be an all NH affair.
My view, just sit back and enjoy the skill, power, passion each team brings week in, week out.
Posted 19:36 28th November 2010
couchspud says...
@carpelone
Your a dreamer mate, the Boks get beaten by quality sides quite often these days and by sides who run them around the park so that there steriod enlarged legs cant cope.
You guys lose to teams that the AB,S have never lost too and I suspect suffer the same flaw as England and only play well at home.
I wish them well but still cant see you beating us, because our defensive record is better than yours as is our attack, and you wont have the advantage of altitude assitance when playing in NZ next year.
Posted 19:23 28th November 2010
olepete says...
Interesting tour for ABs, 18 tries to 4. Someone said they are getting worse because in their last two tours there were none scored against them, but in these four matches (including England and Ireland both of which harbour a fantasy that they could have won), they have looked pretty impressive to me. Hope our lads can turn something on in the 6N to buck us up.
I've finally concluded that trinats writes his pieces with the objective of winding us up - he can't be serious!
Posted 17:14 28th November 2010
7ton says...
carpelone
Judging by your silly little snidey comments against Wales and NZ here I see your still sour after this years tri-nations
BTW I can recall NZ winning a few games against SA and Aus this year by 2-3 points and if you think they were meaningless games then I would suggest you don't bother watching rugby.
How many Titles have SA won in the tri-nations? and that's in colour or Black and white TV
Yes we have heard time and time again about (in your opinion 2cnd string S. African teams)
It's all very easy to make big predictions about the world cup but if by chance the AB's do win it next year you will look pretty stupid then won't you.
Posted 13:03 28th November 2010
carpelone says...
@ couchspud
You can't see how the Boks can beat ABs, this is why you won only one title, when the TV was still black and white.
I will tell you how. Powerful set piece, big hits and strong defence. The secret will be to enter the final 20 minutes under the break. Then ABs will choke, once again.
You can win meaningless game by 20, but not the ones that count by 2-3 points.
Remember the faces on the AB's bench at the Millennium stadium, they will show again.
Posted 10:58 28th November 2010
kent says...
Reado15 - The word is "citing", and stop bloody whingeing
Posted 10:00 28th November 2010
kpe12 says...
I watched all the end of year AB tests, and followed most of the other 3N tests and I can comfortably say the ABs are clearly the most rounded and deep team in the world. Yes next year is a WC year and everyone else picks up their game in a WC year and it will be hotly contested, there will be upsets and one might happen against the ABs, but on current form the ABs are not going to be upset by a northern hemisphere team. The Boks or Wallabies however can be beaten by one of the home nations depending on whether their Jeckyll or Hyde team turns up.
The ABs have comfortably put away the English/Scottish/Irish and Welsh despite some "interesting" interpretations of the games laws. The ABs however did give up more tries this tour than last year and despite excellent defense it is something that will provide food for thought for opposition coaches.
For the Welsh game I think Gatland must have been tearing his hair out midway through the first half (or has the tactical nous of a rugby ball) , what were the Welsh team thinking trying to counter attack or keep the ball in play continuously!! It made for a great spectacle but essentially sealed their own fate, they gave up a critical 5 pointer on the Carter offload to Mills try and it was purely because they had the mentality of ??? sportsmanship/gamesmanship/lack of IQ? Their forwards were poked and to be honest with the loose forward trio NZ has, they had no chance against the ABs at that tempo, they should have played the corners, slowed the game down and tried to win scrappy like they started to do at the start of the second half (and use the crowd). To beat the ABs you either need to be amazing at securing your own ball and recycle it perfectly and quickly, or grind it out. SA grind out wins against the ABs and the Wallabies recycle and secure and wait for opportunities.
As for the first penalty against Gear... whaa?
Posted 09:42 28th November 2010
carpelone says...
@ hayj05
I would also consider Burger, Brussouw, JP Pietersen and Habana (if in form). Especially the wings would give more efficiency to the Bok's game. 5 or 6 players to be added are not insignificant. It is going to be a hell of a match.
It took just 20 minutes at the beginning of the second half to beat Wales. They drew to Fiji. Wales is in its descending curve, together with Ireland, the other wooden spoon contender in the next 6 Nations.
Posted 09:39 28th November 2010
StunTheMullet says...
@ Rugbychivalry - No we get sick of ABs being refereeing closer than their opponents along with cheap shots on Ritchie McCaw.
What's the count - 2 in 4 weeks plus Heaslip earlier in the year?
Lets see if Stevie Wonder is the citing comissioner again.
Posted 07:43 28th November 2010
Borig says...
Very interesting game, for a number of reasons.
- Mr Lewis. Tough game, but he was consistent.
- The Millenium Stadium turf. What an embarrassment. Made scrums absolutely impossible. Don't blame the front rows or ref here.
- Welsh defense. Worked very well in set play in, and hats off to them for keeping the intensity up for the whole game.
- SBW. His first exposure to rush d. He'll learn.
- Maa Nonu. What a player to have sitting on the bench!!
- 5 tries to 1. Should have been 5 nil. A smashing in anyones book.
- Kaino. Devastating.
- Braid. More than useful, but rightly binned.
@trinats. Yep, maybe the wheel fell off. But as you've said, it's been found and will be repaired, which is useful 1 year out from RWC.
@carlepone. Most probably kapo o pango as it was the last game of the slam, or in respect to the souls that died last week in the NZ mining tradegy. Neither aka is specifically reserved for minnows (I'd hardly call Wales minnows)
Posted 06:49 28th November 2010
JasonHarrison says...
Now that's a flattering scoreline to the Welsh, they really were never in this other than a late consolation try after the match was well and truly over.
Posted 05:09 28th November 2010