Wales humbled in Gatland’s backyard

WALES coach Warren Gatland slammed his second team for blowing their All Blacks audition after the local boy’s ‘Welcome Home’ party turned into a night to forget. Gatland is now likely to make just one change for Saturday’s second Test against New Zealand, with full back Gareth Anscombe in line to replace the injured George North. ‘A few questions were answered,’ said Gatland. ‘Some players were given an opportunity to put their hands up for selection and they didn’t take it. A number of players have asked me personally about what they have to do to get selected. There will be some fairly simple answers over the next few days.’ Wales conceded six tries against a Chiefs squad missing 20 players and scored just one to leave the All Blacks licking their lips ahead of the final two Tests. The sloppy display left Gatland cringing with embarrassment in front of the 17,756-strong hometown crowd, which included a sizeable party of his friends and family. ‘In terms of morale, it’s disappointing,’ said Gatland. ‘The players in the changing room are hurting. The challenge is how we respond. The players will learn a heck of a lot from this. They’ll go away, look in the mirror and see how it can make them better players.’ Brad Weber, Tom Sanders, Dominic Bird, James Lowe, Toni Pulu and Sam McNicol all crossed the line for the hosts. Kristian Dacey got the consolation score for Wales.