New Zealand recorded their biggest-ever win over Wales in their one-off Test at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, with the All Blacks winning by 55-3. The victory was every bit as compelling as the scoreline suggests, with the Kiwis outscoring the opposition by eight tries to none.
The previous biggest defeat suffered by Wales against the All Blacks was in Christchurch back in 1988, when they lost 52-3. The 55 points scored by the All Blacks are also more than the 54 they conceded in their 54-9 defeat in Auckland two weeks after the 49-point hammering in Christchurch.
But back to the present and Hamilton on Saturday.
Statistics can sometimes be misleading, but this is one occasion where the match stats tell a story all of its own. The All Blacks had 70 percent of the possession at the Waikato Stadium and enjoyed a territorial advantage of 76 percent.
Another interesting fact is that New Zealand have not conceded a try in 160 minutes of rugby ... or if you really want to be intricate you can say they have not conceded a try in any of their Test matches all year.
But what is more notable is the way in which the Kiwis overcame a slow start to shut the Welsh out altogether.
The early stages of the game certainly belonged to the Welsh, who managed to get some good possession and also launched a couple of brave counter attacks.
They were rewarded for their bravery and effort with a seventh-minute penalty, which fly-half Stephen Jones duly slotted to give them the lead.
They managed to hold onto that lead for another 13 minutes, despite the All Blacks slowly starting to take control.
By the 20th minute the All Blacks scored their first points, a Doug Howlett try, which saw them move into the lead -- a lead they never conceded.
It came from a scrum inside the Welsh 22-metre area, from where they set up a ruck and then took it wide where they had superior numbers. Carter added the conversion for a 7-3 lead.
Carter landed a penalty seven minutes later to make it 10-3 as the Kiwis started taking total control of proceedings.
While the Welsh continued to put up brave resistance, with some stern defence, the overwhelming feeling was that the figurative dam wall was about to burst.
It did not happen in the first half, with the All Blacks adding just one more try before the break. It came in the 33rd minute, when Carlos Spencer slipped over after a movement, which he himself started with a blinding midfield break. The forwards came into play very quickly and with good quick ball Spencer was able to find a gap to squeeze through.
Carter added the conversion to make it 17-3, which was also the score at the break.
It took the All Blacks just five minutes after the break to start the flood of second-half tries, with Carter going over for his first Test try. It came after a drive by the Kiwi forwards, some hard running by Tana Umaga to create the gap, a ruck and quick ball to the left where Carter scored after a great hand-off on Mark Taylor.
Carter added the conversion for a 24-3 lead and it was clear that Wales were now reduced to damage control.
The next 10 minutes belonged to the forwards, with prop Kees Meeuws and hooker Kevin Mealamu scoring tries.
Meeuws went over in the 50th minute after a scrum five metres out, with the forwards driving, driving and driving again till Meeuws flopped over. Mealamu's try came from a line-out five metres out, when they also drove the Welsh defenders back over their own line.
The backs got back into the scoring fray in the 63rd minute, when Umaga went over after a scrum, from which Carter created the half-gap. Carter converted two of these three tries as the score moved to 43-3.
The 50-points came up in the 67th minute, when Joe Rokocoko scored his first Test try, after a turnover and a counter-attack by the Kiwis. Rokocoko scored New Zealand's eighth try in the 71st minute, when he charged down an attempted clearance and pounced on the ball.
Man of the match: There are many candidates, with Kees Meeuws, Keven Mealamu, Jerry Collins, Marty Holah among the forwards all doing well. Add to that the names of backs like debutant Daniel Carter and wing Joe Rokocoko. But our vote goes to prop forward Kees Meeuws, who scored one try and came close to another couple. But it was his overall work-rate which earned him this award.
Moment of the Match: From an entertainment point of view it is not the best moment, but it was a defining moment when Wales No.8 Colin Charvis was stretchered off with concussion in the 23rd minute -- after a very heavy tackle by Jerry Collins. It was as if the fight had been knocked out of the entire Welsh team.
Villain(s) of the match: Our vote goes unanimously to the All Blacks' new tight-fitting jerseys, which just do not seem to be up to international standards. In fact, it was so bad that at one stage Joe Rokocoko was playing with No.31 (a replacement jersey) and Daniel Carter with a No.26 jumper. Later on Steve Devine was playing with No.24 as the jumpers kept being ripped apart.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 Carl Hoeft, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daniel Carter, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves: Brad Thorn
Unused: David Hewett, Aaron Mauger, Richie McCaw, Byron Kelleher, Anton Oliver, Caleb Ralph
Wales: 1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Robert Sidoli, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Martyn Williams (c), 8 Colin Charvis, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Jamie Robinson, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Tom Shanklin, 15 Rhys Williams
Reserves: Mefin Davies, Gavin Henson, Dwayne Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Jonathan Thomas, Chris Wyatt
Unused: Ben Evans
Attendance: 25200
Referee: Lewis a.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Carter D.W. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Mealamu K.F. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv: Carter D.W. 6
Pen K.: Carter D.W. 1
Wales
Pen K.: Jones S.M. 1
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