“We played very well for the first 55-80 minutes, but in the last 10 minutes they just got away from us and caught us napping – it’s very disappointing,” said man of the match Jamie Roberts.
“They scored some lovely tries towards the end, but we contained their kicking game for those first 70 minutes. They are a fantastic team and deserved to win.
“No one is more disappointed than the players and we have to take the positives from those first 70 minutes.”
Wales skipper Sam Warburton was full of praise for the way the near sell-out crowd roared his team on as they went in search of a first win over the All Blacks in 61 years.
“There were a couple of defensive errors, but you have to give credit to New Zealand and that’s why they are No 1 in the world. Our first-half effort was great and put pressure on them and our line speed in defence was good,” said Warburton.
“However, they showed a lot of composure and their cross-field kick was a real gutsy thing. We’ve got one more hurdle to go and the atmosphere today was one of the best I’ve played in and it should be similar next week.”
Wales coach Warren Gatland admitted he was proud of his side’s effort in the opening 69 minutes, but conceded the All Blacks were worthy winners in the end.
“New Zealand have been No 1 for so long they will nearly always find a way to get themselves out of trouble,” said Gatland.
Former Wales coach Steve Hansen, who picked up the award as World Rugby Coach of the Year after the game for the third year in a row for his work with the All Blacks, reinforced the point that rugby is an 80 minute game.
“It was a tight tussle, but you have got to play for the full 80 minutes and you have to work for your points – we had to do that today. It wasn’t perfect, but we do seem to be able to find a way to win when we are not playing that well,” said Hansen.
