Try, try, try again

Yet again Wales took on New Zealand with a certain degree of optimism. “If there is a time to beat the All Blacks this is it”, “They are tired at the end of a long season”, “They are missing key players due to injuries”, “Scotland should have beaten them”, etc., etc. Those of us who have been around a long time have heard this all before of course. Still you never know, I thought.

We got to the ground ridiculously early after the debacle before the Australia game. We heeded the warning of Mr Phillips the WRU Chief Executive who told us to get in at least two hours before kick-off. It was all right for him to say that of course when he knew he would be lunching in some private dining room in the bowels of the stadium. We had to queue for maybe fifteen minutes and found ourselves in the stadium with almost two hours to go before the kick off. Lots of other people had heeded Mr Phillip’s advice and the bars were doing a roaring trade. The cynic in me wonders whether this was the real reason for us being told to be there so early. Let us hope that a more efficient way of keeping us secure can be found before the Six Nations.

So to the match. Wales gave it their all and monopolised possession for the first quarter with scant reward. You always feel that New Zealand use the old Ali “rope-a- dope” tactic and wait for the opposition to punch themselves out and then strike ruthlessly and decisively. Despite some vibrant play from Wales, the All Blacks scored two tries through Naholo before half time in response to two penalties. Just as the half was drawing to a close, Wales scored a beautifully worked try when Amos broke the defensive line and crisp passing put Williams over – wonderful. The conversion failed but Wales were well in the game at 11-12.

Wales continued to apply pressure in the second half and the New Zealanders made more errors than they normally make in a year. Then came the surgical strikes – two converted tries by the All Blacks looked decisive. The first from powerful running by Ioane who off-loaded for Lienert-Brown to cross and the second was very much self-inflicted by Wales when Biggar’s pass was intercepted by Ioane.

Wales fought back well and pounded away at the New Zealand line. A yellow card for Sam Whitelock and a try for Wales by Davies – it was a bit like the Scotland game. Wales eight points behind and the All Blacks seemingly on the ropes. Then came a moment of pure class and tells you all you need to know about the world champions. Another surgical strike from a scrum put Ioane in the clear and he simply scorched over and that was that. Final score 18-33.

More disappointment but certainly a high tempo, upbeat performance form Wales. A great performance from Navidi and Amos looked sharp again but injuries to Webb and Ball. Now Wales must face the Springboks next week without the English-based players as well as a lengthy injury list. Opportunity beckons for some I am sure but you have to wonder at the sanity of the demands of the Welsh Autumn Series.

Before the match we managed to see the Scots work the Aussies over as part of the pre-match entertainment. Scotland certainly seem to have got something going and will surely be a force in the Six Nations. It is their turn to stop the English juggernaut this time.

In marked contrast on Friday night I watched Pontypool play a Torfaen XV in a very frosty Pontypool Park. I am glad to say the Pooler players had not forgotten how to play after their lay-off and won comfortably enough - by my calculation it was 64-0. Whilst it was a decent workout for the squad, the real reason for the match was to raise money for Scott Bessant’s Fighting Fund – a worthy cause and we wish Scott well. Pooler next play at Talywain on Friday in another refresher match before getting back to the Championship the week after.

Come on Pooler!

Next Saturday it is up at the crack of dawn to get to Cardiff for the Wales v Springboks game. Breakfast in the stadium perhaps.

Come on Wales!