Gallant Wales give All Blacks a run for their money

New Zealand 53

Wales 37

Referee: A Watson (SA). Attendance: 80,112

NEW Zealand survived their first real World Cup scare before beating a gallant Wales side yesterday to seal top spot in Pool D and set up a quarter-final showdown with South Africa.

The All Blacks secured victory with three late tries after Wales had threatened to pull off an upset by edging ahead midway through the second half.

New Zealand showed why they are rated as the best attacking team in the tournament as they piled on eight tries, but the Welsh exposed some major weaknesses in defence as they ran in four touchdowns despite fielding a second-string team.

"I thought Wales played fantastic," said New Zealand captain Reuben Thorne. "They’re a very passionate team. They’re very strong. Defence let us down a wee bit so we tried to step it up a bit," he added. "It was a real gallop and that’s what we wanted going into the quarter-finals."

Wales crossed three times in the first half and once more after the break to lead 37-33 with less than 20 minutes to go before the All Blacks regained their composure.

"We’re very proud of the fact we put up a good performance," said Wales captain Colin Charvis. "We knew that after our first few games we had to step up and perform against the New Zealanders and we did."

Wingers Joe Rokocoko and Doug Howlett finished with two tries apiece, and outside centre Leon MacDonald, lock Ali Williams, fly-half Carlos Spencer and inside centre Aaron Mauger grabbed one each. MacDonald also landed five conversions and a penalty for a personal tally of 18 points. Centres Mark Taylor and Sonny Parker, flanker Charvis and winger Shane Williams scored tries for Wales, with fly-half Stephen Jones kicking four conversions and three penalties. Wales play England in Brisbane next weekend.

The signs looked ominous for Wales right from the kick-off when the All Blacks elected to run the ball from inside their own quarter. Swinging the ball quickly from one side of the field to the other, the All Blacks effortlessly worked their way into Welsh territory before Rokocoko strolled over in the second minute. The ease of the try suggested that the All Blacks were about to run the Welsh ragged, but Steve Hansen’s side clearly had other ideas, punching holes through the All Blacks’ defence almost at will. Jones chipped and regathered to put Taylor over in the 11th minute before New Zealand briefly took control with three quick tries.

Rokocoko grabbed his second when he bamboozled the defence on a 50-metre burst down the left side before MacDonald scored from a quick tap.

New Zealand secured their bonus point inside half an hour when Williams soared above two Welsh defenders to catch a perfectly directed cross-field bomb from Spencer, with MacDonald converting to give his side a 28-10 lead.

But just when it seemed like the floodgates were about to open, New Zealand suddenly lost their way, allowing Wales to rack up 24 unanswered points.

Parker crossed out wide in the 34th after Williams broke through the defence, captain Charvis plunged over from the back of a ruck on the stroke of halftime to send his side to the break trailing 28-24.

Wales started the second half where they finished off in the first, with Jones booting a long-range penalty to cut the margin to one point before Williams put his side in front for the first time when he scored in the left corner after replacement Ceri Sweeney broke through.

New Zealand replied with a quick try by Howlett but another penalty from Jones gave Wales a 37-33 lead, to the disbelief of the full-house at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.

The All Blacks regained the lead 20 minutes from the end when Spencer sliced through a hole after a long build-up of pressure as the Welsh tired.

Howlett scored on the right wing ten minutes from the end to put the match out of Wales’ reach, then Mauger crossed near the posts to give the All Blacks a flattering victory margin.

"We can only benefit from that experience," said John Mitchell, the New Zealand coach.

Scorers. New Zealand: Tries: Rokocoko (2), Howlett (2), McDonald, Williams, Spencer. Cons: McDonald (5). Pens: McDonald. Wales: Tries: Taylor, Parker, Charvis, Williams. Cons: Jones (4). Pens: Jones (3).

New Zealand: M Muliaina; D Howlett, LMacDonald, A Mauger, J Rokocoko; C Spencer, J Marshall; D Hewett , K Mealamu , G Somerville, B Thorn, A Williams, R Thorne (captain), J Collins, R McCaw. Subs: K Meeuws for Hewett 50mins, M Holah for Collins 52, M Hammett for Mealamu 70.

Wales: G Evans; S Williams, M Taylor, S Parker, T Shanklin; S Jones, G Cooper; I Thomas, R McBryde, A Jones, B Cockbain, R Sidoli, J Thomas, A Popham, C Charvis (captain). Subs: G Thomas for Evans 5, G Jenkins for A Jones 33, C Sweeney for Parker 35, C Wyatt for Cockbain 60, M Davies for McBryde 62, D Jones for Popham 64, D Peel for Cooper 76.