All Blacks Make The Game Disappear Before Your Very Eyes

One moment Wales were in this match against New Zealand and in a trice it had vanished without trace. As the home side started to feel the effects of a punishing match, the All Blacks pounced and scored 19 unanswered points in 10 minutes. It was hard luck on Wales who had given everything they had but this is why the All Blacks are the best team in the world. They have done something similar against Australia, England and Scotland in their last few matches so it is certainly no fluke.

What could Wales have done better? Rather like in the game against Australia they led by a point with around 10 minutes left and had done remarkably well to claw their way back after conceding two tries. Looking down on the match from the stand you could see that a number of the Welsh players were virtually out on their feet and I thought that Gatland could have brought on the forward replacements a bit earlier. An area of some concern was the lineout where New Zealand applied serious pressure and forced turnovers that we could ill afford. In most areas, however, we were very competitive and the intensity of our defence was ferocious at times. The Barrett try that proved the game breaker came from a lovely kick ahead and although Halfpenny was well positioned the bounce of the ball favoured Barrett. These things happen!

Am I downhearted? A little yes, but I predicted a score line of 6-33 so I guess in the end the final score of 16-34  is pretty much what I expected and a similar story to most of the recent games against NZ. We give them a hell of a game for an hour or so but, in the end, the All Blacks get it done.

Ireland seem to have found a way of beating the top Southern Hemisphere sides with a victory against Australia to complement the win against South Africa. I fancy they would give the All Blacks a run for their money in their current vein of form

It’s the Springboks for us next week. Let’s hope that we have got enough fit players to have a good go at them. This schedule of matches is challenging to say the least.

Pontypool’s schedule of matches is certainly not challenging at the moment. It has been three weeks since the last league match so only two left before we can watch some proper rugby.  Absolutely ludicrous!