Paul John’s men entered the fray full of confidence after yesterday’s dismantling of tournament favourites Fiji to finish top of Pool E. But the Kiwis dominated the quarter-final from start to finish to claim a deserved 26-10 victory.
Yesterday Wales were full of running and confidence but against the men in black, they found a side gunning for revenge after the All Blacks suffered a shock defeat to Wales at the same stage four years ago in Dubai.
Gillies Kaka raced away from the defence to convert his own try in the fourth minute and when Tomasi Cama added the extras to his touchdown, the signs looked ominous.
But a try by Rhys Shellard on the stroke of halftime offered Wales a glimmer of hope going into the second spell but two quickfire tries by Bruce Heem and Kaka put the game beyond Wales’ reach.
Fittingly, it was Lee Williams, the only remaining member of the squad who tasted World Cup success in Dubai, who shot over for a consolation try for Wales.
Wales head coach Paul John couldn’t hide his disappointment in the way his side left the tournament.
“The boys put in a huge performance yesterday against Fiji but we couldn’t follow it up today against New Zealand. We made too many basic errors so we are slightly disappointed in the manner of our exit in the tournament,” he said.
“We didn’t reach the standards we played to yesterday so it’s disappointing to go out on that note.
“Looking back on the tournament, we have proved we are a very dangerous side. We let in a few tries against Tonga but beat Fiji, so we had a few ups and downs but that’s that nature of sevens. I think we just have to believe in ourselves a bit more when we come up against New Zealand in the future.”
A disappointed Wales captain, Adam Thomas, added: “We didn’t follow up the performance from yesterday. The boys dug deep but we were chasing the game from the start. We didn’t give up. But today we just couldn’t get the ball and New Zealand took their chances.”
