“Our discipline let us down in the first half and we made silly elementary errors to let in three tries” said Jones. “We know that against top opposition you cannot do that but we will take great stock from our second half performance, when we matched them in all areas.”
Turnovers and dropped passes had been instrumental in Wales going 25-3 behind at the interval. It was centre Isaia Toeava who took advantage of Welsh largesse by racing in for a try as well as kicking two penalties and two conversions for a personal 15 point tally.
Wales’s only answer to a push over try, credited to prop Scott Murphy and another close range effort from No 8 Charles O’Connell, was a penalty by Blues fly half Gareth Williams-Jones. Wales had lost twice before to New Zealand in Junior World Cups – 25-0 in the 1999 final and 36-8 in a 3rd/4th place play off in 2000 and it looked as if Wales were heading for a decisive third defeat when they trailed 25-3 the break.
And particularly so as Wales’s outstanding forward, Blues lock Bradley Davies had to go off injured but with the scrum very solid and the discipline much improved, Wales took it to the young All Blacks. Blues prop Rhys Gill was to the fore, Dragons centre Tom Cheeseman impressed in all areas and it was the New Zealanders that had to put in the big tackles.
It was nip and tuck all the way and Wales rightly had the last say when good continuity left the captain and centre Jon Spratt (Ospreys) the room to squeeze through for a richly deserved Welsh try.
*** Scotland who lost 32-11 to England will be Wales’s next opponents on Tuesday
New Zealand
Tries: S Murphy, I Toeava, C O’Connell
Cons: I Toeava (2) Pens I Toeava (2)
Wales
Try: J Spratt
Pen: G Williams-Davies
First day results
New Zealand 25 Wales 8
England 32 Scotland 11
France 6 Australia 10
Ireland 16 Georgia 0
Japan 5 Romania 15
South Africa 62 Argentina 18
