Two tries from All Black wing Doug Howlett enabled New Zealand to finish off their 2002 tour of the UK with a thumping 43-17 win over a battling Wales side at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
It was a cruel final scoreline for a brave Welsh team who, though clearly outclassed from the very beginning, had fought with real guts and self-belief and had actually led the visitors right up until the opening minutes of the second half.
But really, given the huge advantage in terms of territory and possession that the All Blacks enjoyed throughout this encounter, a Welsh victory always looked unlikely against a slicker, classier New Zealand outfit.
The alarm bells were ringing for Wales as early as the second minute when a grubber kick from talented All Black debutant Regan King saw Doug Howlett nearly touching down in the left hand corner, the ball just running away from the wing's outstretched fingertips in the in-goal area.
New Zealand had another chance from a lineout just five metres out a few moments later, the All Black pack driving over the Welsh tryline in double quick time -- straight through the heart of the Welsh pack. Luckily for Wales, video referee Joel Dume decided that the ball had gone forward off a New Zealand hand.
With New Zealand ever pushing forward through their back row and midfield strike runners, Wales survived another scare when the ball went wide from the ensuing scrum and their first-up defence held up well as they forced a penalty and relieved this early pressure.
Then, seemingly from nowhere, Wales stormed into the lead, laying siege to the All Black line with some fine continuity play, Jamie Robinson and Gareth Thomas making in-roads into the New Zealand defence before referee Tappe Henning signalled that the visitors had crept up offside during this protracted Welsh assault.
Fly-half Stephen Jones made no mistake with a simple penalty kick to put his side into a 3-0 lead.
That lead was shortlived, however, as Andrew Mehrtens brought his side level just two minutes later following another typical wide-ranging attacking movement by the All Blacks.
But then, completely against the run of play, a sensational try from nowhere shocked the All Blacks.
An ominous-looking All Black attack broke down as Mehrtens' kick was charged down by Welsh flanker Martyn Williams. Jones hacked on and the ball went bobbling 50 metres downfield before stopping stock still over the mud-caked All Black tryline. Robinson was out of blocks and hared off in search of the ball, beating the All Black cover to touch down.
Jones added the extras and Wales were ahead by 10-3 with 16 minutes of the match played -- the vast majority of it in the Welsh half.
Mehrtens came back with his second penalty in the 17th minute to bring New Zealand back to within four points of Wales.
Wales had a chance to further stretch their lead when New Zealand lock Ali Williams unwisely swung a punch at a breakdown, Jones attempting an ambitious massive penalty from the halfway line, his kick just going wide of the lefthand post.
New Zealand began to edge back inato the game, working themselves downfield with ball in hand and opening up the Welsh defence. But each time they came within the striking range of the Welsh tryline, their precision eluded them, enabling the scrabbling Welsh defence to clear their lines.
One such instance saw a slick All Black backline move releasing Jonah Lomu down the left, the winger eventually dragged down by Gareth Thomas, but not before handing on to scrum-half Steve Devine. Only a tremendous cover tackle from fullback Rhys Williams stopping the score.
Considering that they were blooding four new caps in their pack, the New Zealand forwards put immense pressure on their Welsh counterparts to cause some major problems for Welsh skipper Colin Charvis at the base of the scrum. The No.8 did some invaluable work in this area to give scrum-half Dwayne Peel extra vital seconds to consider his options.
Then with just two minutes of normal time left in the first half, Mehrtens missed a penalty that would have put his side to within a point of their hosts after Gareth Llewellyn was adjudged to have interfered with an All Black jumper at a lineout.
But seconds later, the veteran second row charitably gave the visitors another bite at the cherry as he lost his footing at the breakdown to give Mehrtens another attempt at goal.
This time the No.10 was on target, leaving Wales clinging onto a bare one point lead.
Wales finished the half strongly, winning some quick ball during a thrilling series of attacks, but despite putting width on the ball, the Dragons did not seem to have the necessary muscle to cause a breakthrough in the All Black defensive line.
Despite this lack of penetration, Wales could have stretched their lead right at the end of the first-half, Jones hitting the right-hand post with the kick to let the All Blacks off the hook going into the break.
The early stages of the second-half saw Wales again pinned back into their own 22, Welsh hands on he floor giving Mehrtens the opportunity to kick another three points and put his side into the lead for the first time in the match.
Then, a moment of Welsh opportunism nearly saw another try for Wales, Gareth Thomas and Jamie Robinson hacking on a loose ball to create disarray in the All Black ranks.
But, alas for the home fans, as the ball bounced up to shoulder height, neither Welsh chaser could latch onto the ball and the chance to seize the lead once more was lost.
Injuries to All Black skipper Taine Randell and fullback Ben Blair forced a reorganisation in the New Zealand ranks, Marty Holah and Mark Robinson joining the throng.
This change in personnel seemed to do the trick for the visitors, as the All Blacks struck a killer blow from deep through their fleet-footed backline, Howlett finding acres of space down the lefthand touchline before floating a deft pass to Tana Umaga on his inside.
Umaga looked to be clear but was dragged back by the despairing tackle of Gareth Thomas just a couple of yards short, but was able to off-load to Howlett who streaked over for a well-worked try.
With the clock running down, Welsh replacement Iestyn Harris -- on for Jones at No.10 -- showed his value with two or three flourishes that offered his side some hope of overhauling their opponents.
After uncharacteristically holding onto the ball for multiple phases under the direction of Harris, an immense Welsh scrummage inched towards the New Zealand tryline with Charvis ready to pounce for the pushover.
But with the All Black pack disintegrating into a muddled heap, referee Henning adjudged that a New Zealand boot had illegally kicked the ball out of the scrummage and signalled for a penalty try. With Harris converting, Wales now had a chance to save the match.
But then, with a minute of injury time already played, Umaga again combined with Howlett to give the winger his second try and end Welsh hopes of ending a 49-year losing streak against New Zealand.
As a lengthy period of injury time continued, New Zealand suddenly hit top gear, blitzing Wales with attacks from all angles in a period of ruthless attacking precision – King and replacement prop Kees Meuws both going over to give an overwhelming winning margin for John Mitchell's side.
After finishing off their tour in such style, this young New Zealand team will return home with an immense feeling of satisfaction and confidence ahead of what could be a momentous year for the All Blacks.
Man of the match: Doug Howlett. One man stood head and shoulders above the rest of his fellow players – wing Doug Howlett. Every time he received the ball, Howlett created problems for the Welsh defence, his outright pace and mazy running ensuring that the opposition never quite knew how to deal with him.
Moment of the Match: Regan King's try. All Black outside centre Regan King's debut try resulted from a delightfully slick pass from his midfield partner Tana Umaga and all of New Zealand will be hoping that this will be just the first of many more appearances in the All Black jersey for the gifted Mooloo man.
Villain of the Match: The Millennium Stadium pitch. What is the point of having a gleaming, 21st century stadium if your actual playing surface looks like something out of the middle ages. Full credit to the players for overcoming the limitations of the pitch to produce an absorbing contest, but the WRU must take immediate action to ensure that matters improve before the Six Nations.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Tony Woodcock, 4 Keith Robinson, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Daniel Braid, 7 Taine Randell (c), 8 Rodney So'oialo, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Regan King, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Jonah Lomu, 15 Ben Blair
Reserves: Marty Holah, Paul Steinmetz, Kees Meeuws, Brad Mika, Mark Robinson
Unused: Andrew Hore, Danny Lee
Wales: 1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Robert Sidoli, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Sonny Parker, 13 Jamie Robinson, 14 Gareth Thomas, 15 Rhys Williams
Reserves: Iestyn Harris, Michael Owen, Dafydd James, Garin Jenkins
Unused: Mefin Davies, Richard Parks, Ryan Powell
Attendance: 72500
Referee: Henning t.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 2, King R. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv: Mehrtens A.P. 4
Pen K.: Mehrtens A.P. 5
Wales
Tries: Robinson J.P. 1, Penalty Try 1
Conv: Jones S.M. 1, Harris I.R. 1
Pen K.: Jones S.M. 1
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