Rugby: Never count out resourceful All Blacks, says Hansen

Steve Hansen
Steve Hansen
Wales defended with such intensity it was inevitable that they wilted late on in falling to a 34-16 defeat by New Zealand, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said.

The world champions were matched for 65 minutes by a fired-up Wales at the Millennium Stadium in the final match of their northern hemisphere tour before pulling away.

Wales, who have not beaten their southern hemisphere foes since 1953, led 16-15 when Leigh Halfpenny slotted over his third penalty on 67 minutes but Beauden Barrett's first of two tries two minutes later turned the game New Zealand's way.

Hansen said the hosts, buoyed by fervent support, could not possibly sustain their high energy levels for 80 minutes.

Responding to fellow New Zealander and Wales coach Warren Gatland's assertion that Wales had his side rattled at times, Hansen told reporters: "I don't know if we were rattled but certainly tested".

Praising the home team's display as "the best defensive effort against us this year", former Wales coach Hansen said composure under pressure proved the difference.

"It's called a test match because it's a test of both your physical and mental attributes," he added.

"Defensively they worked hard but at some point you pay a price for that. We make people work hard and then we bring on some fresh people and they carry on that momentum.

"Ten minutes after halftime you could see the game starting to swing around our way and it was just a matter of us being accurate and making sure we took the opportunities that arose. It's all about being composed under pressure.

"Probably in the first half we weren't that composed. We talked about that at halftime."

Victory capped a successful tour which began with a 74-6 mismatch against the United States in Chicago, then saw Hansen's side grind out a 24-21 win over England before a virtual second string side prevailed 24-16 against Scotland.

Captain Richie McCaw, given a standing ovation by both sets of fans after leading New Zealand out for the 100th time as captain, said his team could "now reflect on a good year after finishing off with a good performance".

"To come off with what the scoreboard said was reasonably comfortable in the end, you know it's a pretty proud moment. We got the job done," explained McCaw. 

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