All Blacks praised as best in the world
His chamber empty, respect was the only thing Warren Gatland was firing the All Blacks way after yet another Kiwi reality check in Cardiff.
Wales’ New Zealand rugby coach has had his moments taking shots at the All Blacks and Kiwi media, whether on tour with the British and Irish Lions this year or since in his recently published tour diary, but after yesterday’s
33-18 defeat to Steve Hansen’s side, he kept things wholly honourable.
It was Gatland’s 11th straight defeat to the All Blacks since he took charge of Wales, and the country’s 30th in total since their last victory, in 1953.
After his side had been unable to convert a strong first-half performance into anything more substantial than an 11-12 deficit, Gatland paid full respect to the All Blacks, saying the back-to-back world champions remained the team everyone else in the game is chasing.
‘‘They’re a good team, aren’t they? At halftime we felt very much in the game and pretty comfortable. The message was we need to go out there and be accurate and in some key moments we weren’t able to do that against the best team in the world.
‘‘I thought it was a great test match. At halftime we felt we’ve given them some soft points. I’d said before the match we’d have a good chance of winning if we were able to contain the size and pace and power of their wingers. That was probably the difference between the two sides . . . they [Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo] scored four tries between them.’’
Gatland was even able to summon some humour when it came to the thorn in his side the 20-yearold Ioane was, with his brace of tries, and two more laid on for team-mates in a powerhouse display.
‘‘His grandmother was Welsh, wasn’t she?’’ he responded, before getting serious. ‘‘He’s not bad, is he. There are not many weaknesses in his game. He’s quick and powerful, has great footwork and he scores tries.’’
Gatland was happy with the positivity and intent of his side’s attacking play, but not so their defence. ‘‘We got exposed a few times.’’
The former touring All Black was also adamant the New Zealanders remain at the head of the pack, never mind the recent improvement of England, Ireland and now Scotland.
‘‘There’s still a gap but we’d like to think some of that gap, and the experience from the summer [Lions tour] for a few players, is closing it a little bit.’’
But he had been especially impressed with the All Blacks’ setpiece strikepower in this match.
‘‘The All Blacks have scored one try from phase play, an intercept, and they were pretty clinical from lineouts and scrums in the way they scored. One of the things you can’t do as a coach is coach experience.
‘‘We had a few youngsters out there who would have learned from that . . . the advantage for a lot of those [New Zealand] players is the level they play week-in, week-out at Super Rugby, then the Championship, and being together for that period and being able to handle being under pressure for long times and taking their opportunities when they appear.
‘‘That’s what we try and replicate at training . . . a lot of [our] players will go away from today, have a close look at their games and take a lot out of that experience from playing such a quality side.’’
Best in the world. Gatland said so.
‘They’re a good team, aren’t they?’’ Warren Gatland on the All Blacks