Insult in Injury
By Paul (23/11/02)
November 23 2002
The score line did not fairly reflect what could just have been an unlikely and undeserved victory. With a penalty try from a collapsed scrum on the All Blacks line, we trailed 17-22 with a minute left. Sadly it was not to be.
The opening exchanges were dominated by the side in Black, most of the game being played in our 22. With the All Black's forwards in control, and their backs looking as dangerous as ever, the few scraps we had of possession ended mostly with the ball being kicked away or turned over.
But against the run of play, suddenly without any warning we were to take the lead. Continued phase play among the New Zealand back's broke down, Stephen Jones hacked the ball down the field in hope more than anything, but Jamie Robinson left the All Blacks trailing dashing into the corner as the ball sat up perfectly to give us a 10-3 lead.
The rest of the half saw a few promising moves from us, a few dubious referring decisions and and basic handling, meant we couldn't really sustain any concerted pressure. The boot of the Kiwi Jenks, Andrew Mehrtens put them within one point, But New Zealand were still dominating possession and continued to starve us of any real possession. I can only remember of one occasion in the half when we missed a tackle.
Half Time: Wales 10 New Zealand 9
We all knew it was coming, and when Howlett went round Robinson mid way through the second half, feeding Umaga on the inside before he slipped the ball forward back to Howlett, referee Henning choosing to award the try. It was almost an acceptance of the inevitable.
Although the game was still in the balance on the scoreboard, on the pitch our defence was being continually subjected to endless pressure, but it stood firm. Our scrum was still going strong, but McBryde's throwing was a little of target.
Hansen was really forced into taking a gamble on bringing Iestyn on for a completely shattered Stephen Jones. The substitution sparked something, and we started to surge into the All Blacks half. Gareth Thomas knocked on just before the line after chasing a down field kick.
A lineout move really should have resulted in a Welsh try, but a real lack of understanding saw the ball spilt, but Henning penalised New Zeland for hand in the ruck. After several penalties for blatant offside, Henning was forced to give a penalty try, something that was just deserved for the amount of phases we went through.
There was a new belief, but a try from Howlett was to wipe out any of that. A well placed grubber from Umaga was perfectly picked up by Howlett who beat a despairing Welsh defender to cross the line.
Regan King and Kees Meeuws just compounded the misery. What looked like a very respectable score line had turned into a thrashing. That was as far away from the full story of the game as possible, I doubt the English press will look at it like that.
Try: J Robinson, Pen
Cons: S Jones
Pen: Jones
Tries: D Howlett (2), K Meeuws, R King
Cons: A Mehrtens (4)
Pens: Mehrtens (5)
Wales:
R Williams (Cardiff) M Jones (Llanelli) J Robinson (Cardiff), S Parker
(Pontypridd), G Thomas (Bridgend); S Jones (Llanelli), D Peel (Llanelli); I
Thomas (Llanelli), R McBryde (Llanelli), B Evans (Swansea), R Sidoli
(Pontypridd), G Llewellyn (Neath), D Jones (Llanelli), M Williams (Cardiff), C
Charvis (Swansea, capt).
Replacements: M Davies (Pontypridd), G Jenkins (Pontypridd), M Owen
(Pontypridd), R Parks (Pontypridd), R Powell (Cardiff), I Harris (Cardiff), D
James (Bridgend).
New Zealand: B Blair; D Howlett, R King, T Umaga, J Lomu; A Mehrtens,
S Devine; T Woodcock, K Mealamu, C Hayman, K Robinson, A Williams, T Randell (capt),
D Braid, R So'oialo.
Replacements: A Hore, K Meeuws, B Mika, M Holah, D Lee, P Steinmetz, M
Robinson.
Ref: Tappe Henning (South Africa)
Att: 72,500
Wales
Attack 4/10 Failure to cross the game
line at means you can't really expect to score. Too many players took the ball
standing still and found themselves being caught consistently offside. When
they're were clear overlaps the ball carrier decided to cut back inside usually
being knocked back by the men in black. We seem to be afraid to try and go round
players, or attack space.
Defence: 8/10
Outstanding throughout other than the few lapses which lead to the
try's. We were simply defenced out something had to give and eventually it did.
I can think of few missed tackles, apart from those which led to the tries. The
only problem is the tendency to sometimes commit too many men to defensive
situations and leave spaces open. Stopping Lomu was difficult (as Gareth Thomas
found it) but we did stop him, however many men it took.
Forwards: 7/10
A great display in the scrum, was let down by a scrappy lineout,
although in fairness it wasn't that bad, as most times McBryde managed to hit
his jumper. When Rucking and Mauling the ball, recycling seem's to take an age,
that was one of the main differences between the sides. Getting to rucks and
mauls seems to have speeded up a little.
Backs: 6/10
Too much hesitation stopped them from building up any sustained
movements. Few gaps could be found or made in the All Blacks defence. The
Running angles were predictable and easy to defend against. The lack of
creativity has been sacrificed for the plain and boring. Robinson and Parker
looked good, but it was evident that neither of them knew what each other were
doing. But in fairness they saw little ball all afternoon. Peel had one of his
better games and Stephen Jones's boot was accurate as always.
Wales Overall: 25/40
There is a great deal of fine tuning needed, I feel we miss a Gibbs
like player to get over the game line and cause any real threat at all. Leigh
Davies or Jon Bryant may be the answer. Attackingly we need more flair and
creativity. The forwards need fine tuning, possibly a new lock and Scrum half to
really give them the control they need.
New Zealand 7.5/10
They did what they needed to and a little more. If that meant killing
the ball they did. Mehrtens controlled things, Umaga was kept quiet by Parker,
without this Lomu and Howlett might have probably seen more of the touchline.
The forwards lacked a little guidance, even with Randell, they struggled in the
scrum, but dominated most of the loose play. They caused serious damage to the
Welsh Lineout. A more experienced All Black team would have been more
convincing.
Crowd atmosphere 8/10
An obvious big improvement on the other internationals, as they were a side
with a big Rugby aurora. The horn's were drowned out by the occasional singing
of "Bread of heaven". The National anthem sent a shiver down my spine for the
first time in a while. The unions idea of pumping out the occasional song, is
awful and nothing short of tacky. We never gave up on our team until at least
Howlett's try.
The Ref: 2/10
You have to question whether he had two different sets of rules for
either side. His inconsistency in decision making around the rucks and mauls was
evident. When the Blacks rushed in on the ball he seemed to accuse us of holding
on. But when the opposite happened he awarded the penalty to the all blacks.
They're slowing down of the ball, as well as deliberately staying on our side of
the rucks and mauls was plain to see, he choose to ignore this. When anything
happened out of his sight, instead of asking his touch judges he took it upon
himself.
Entertainment: 7.5/10
An enjoyable match, which we competed in, the likes of Lomu and
Howlett are a pleasure to watch. It could have been a lot more enjoyable without
the frustration of the referee's stupidity, and for only £14 great value (sorry
to those who payed £38 for the posh seats).
The Verdict
The Score board doesn't always tell the truth.
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