IT’S A BLACK OUT

No signs of the hex stopping for Wales

WALES cannot beat the All Blacks.

This was a better showing than usual — there was a late rally when Gareth Davies scored with Sam Whitelock in the bin — but again they ultimately lost.

That is now 30 defeats in a row against New Zealand. Still no win since 1953.

The All Blacks, without their first-choice front row, were too clinical. Wales wasted a number of chances and were just not good enough.

New Zealand scored five tries to Wales’ two. Scott Williams took the first Welsh one, but with Waisake Naholo and Rieko Ioane crossing for two each, and Anton LienertBrown claiming the other, it was a familiar tale of woe for Wales.

Statistics can prove pretty futile against the All Blacks — certainly for half an hour in Cardiff the numbers failed to tell the tale.

At that point, Wales had 88-per-cent territory but for all their time on the ball, their attacking play was too lateral.

The All Blacks, with barely a scrap of possession, led 7-3.

That was after a stunning finish from Naholo. Ioane — dubbed ‘Lazarus’ after his comeback of biblical proportions, having been officially ruled out on Monday with a shoulder injury — started it with a cutting break in midfield.

He scythed past Steff Evans and was away, feeding Aaron Smith.

As the Welsh defence rallied, he checked back and floated a wonderful pass to the right wing and Naholo then leapt, with the ball in his right hand, into the corner.

With Beauden Barrett’s conversion, the All Blacks had cancelled out an early Leigh Halfpenny penalty and were at their clinical best.

It was a brutal opening to the Test — after 19 minutes three players had been permanently substituted.

Rhys Webb suffered a horrible blow to the head and fell over twice trying to get himself back in the Welsh line — it looked awful and certainly as though he had been concussed. Those thoughts were confirmed when Davies replaced him and stayed on.

Next to fall was Jake Ball, writhing in agony with what looked like a dislocated shoulder. He was carried off on a stretcher after a lengthy delay. Cory Hill came on.

In the same minute, Ryan Crotty also departed with Lienert-Brown his replacement.

After the New Zealand try and all those substitutions, Halfpenny missed a shot at goal but made up for it by hitting the next when Kane Hames and Patrick Tuipulotu cynically blocked Evans.

Wales were back within a point, but not for long. Smith tapped a penalty — the third to be run by the All Blacks in quick succession as they hammered the Welsh line — and found Sonny Bill Williams.

The centre crashed it up and after the ruck, one pass found Naholo again on the right wing. It was the same outcome.

But having butchered a number of chances, the clearest when Taulupe Faletau dropped one over the line and Liam Williams fumbled out wide, Wales finally scored one of their own.

Hallam Amos picked a gap and sped away. He was hauled down but Wales had numbers on the left and used them. Dan Biggar passed to Scott Williams, who scored. Halfpenny’s missed conversion ended the first half but at least Wales trailed by only a point.

After the break, there was no score until two minutes before the hour mark but with long, sustained passages of relentless action, both sides playing well and seemingly never infringing, it was hard to take your eyes away.

What ended the scoreless time felt like the killer blow.

Ioane found a little space on the left and it took three Welshmen to take him down. The ball bobbled out of the ruck straight into the hands of Lienert-Brown, who scooped up and ran it in under the posts. Barrett converted and Wales were staring defeat in the face.

Then it really was over. Ioane intercepted Biggar’s wide pass intended for Amos and ran in the Kiwis’ fourth. Game over. Again.

Or was it? Wales certainly did not think so when captain Whitelock was sent to the sin bin after the All Blacks gave away a succession of penalties on their line. From the resulting scrum, Wales went left and Davies scored.

Halfpenny’s conversion meant they now needed two scores in ten minutes to end their Kiwi curse. But when Ioane scored again and Barrett converted, that turned out the lights.

The Cardiff night was All Black once more.