CARDIFF (Reuters) -Winger Tom Rogers became the first Welshman to score a hat-trick of tries against New Zealand but his heroics were in vain as the visitors eased to a 52-26 victory on Saturday.
New Zealand scored seven tries, including two each for wings Caleb Clarke and Sevu Reece, with fullback Ruben Love, prop Tamaiti Williams and centre Rieko Ioane also going over as they finished their Autumn International series with three wins from four games.
Wales, who must go again against world champions South Africa next week, scored a late try through wing Louis Rees-Zammit to record the most points they have ever managed in Cardiff against the All Blacks, beating the previous mark of 25.
Japan’s win over Georgia on Saturday means Wales are guaranteed 11th spot in the world rankings no matter what happens against the Springboks as they go into the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw on December 3 in Pot 2.
"You’re never satisfied with conceding 50 points but you look at the way this young group have gone and attacked New Zealand and were brave in defence," Wales coach Steve Tandy told S4C.
"These boys are a tough group and really represented their country. I don't think we got the rub of the green but I'm massively proud as a coach.
"It’s still not where we want to be, we don't want to be losing at home and we want games to be closer."
The hosts did not help themselves, with yellow cards for prop Gareth Thomas and number eight Taine Plumtree that left them a player light for 20 minutes in the second half.
But Tandy will be pleased with how they competed for large parts of the match.
Rogers was the first player to score a hat-trick against the All Blacks since South Africa’s Marius Joubert in 2004, and the ability of the home side to open up the visitors in wide areas will be pleasing, as shown again by Rees-Zammit’s late score.
New Zealand, however, claimed a 34th consecutive win over Wales despite resting several regulars and took advantage of soft tackling to run in their seven tries.
The scoring was tit-for-tat as the visitors led 24-21 in the 50th minute before New Zealand streaked ahead on the scoreboard.
The pressure applied by New Zealand meant Wales were continually infringing and a difficult assignment got tougher when they were down to 14 players for 20 minutes in the second period.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond and Clare Fallon)
