I went to Cardiff to watch Wales take on the All Blacks. All the talk before the game was hoping that we could hold them to 30 point victory - no talk of us beating them. Some pessimistic forecasts even suggested losing by 50+ points. In the end a 10-33 result seems OK on paper then.
It was a strange game because we have grown used to holding the All Blacks for an hour or so and then being overwhelmed in the last quarter. In this game the All Blacks stormed to an unassailable lead of 0-33 in the first hour with Wales nowhere. True were not helped by early injuries - the one to Bradley Davies leaving a particularly bitter taste in the mouth. We all feared the worst but fortunately the All Blacks coasted a bit and let us back into the game. Their minds were probably on the England game next week. This gave Wales the chance to sieze the intiative and score a couple of tries - one from a rather bizarre 15 man lineout.
I have to say the All Blacks despite their unquestionable talent are a ruthless and cynical team who would probably stop at nothing to win. You can admire their skill but it is difficult to like them.
Wales now have to beat Australia next week to stay in the top eight seeds for the World Cup. I wonder which Autralia will turn up? Knowing our luck it will be the A team.
Good news for Pooler with our benefactor Peter Jeffries making a huge contribution to settling our debts. A big thank you must go to him. Let's hope we can now put the issues of the last year or so behind us and move forward.
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