Wales' disappointing record against New Zealand continued on Saturday with the All Blacks putting 55 points on Wayne Pivac's team in Cardiff.
It was a case of same old, same old for the men in red, despite a degree of optimism pre-match that a result could be achieved. In the end it turned into a gruesome afternoon for the hosts, who have now gone 70 years without a win over the Kiwis.
And with a just a year to go until the World Cup, nagging doubts are creeping in as to whether they can mount a decent challenge in the tournament. With Tests to follow against Argentina, Georgie and Australia this autumn, we'll probably know then what shape Wales are in come the conclusion of the campaign.
Here is what the national media made of the game against Ian Foster's team at the Principality Stadium.
Mail on Sunday
Remember, remember, the fifth of November? Wales, New Zealand and the same old plot.
The storyline of defeat will now extend into its seventh decade. Wales have not won this fixture since 1953 and yesterday they were sent to slaughter by an All Blacks side that left with eight tries and a record points haul.
So much for this being Wales’ best chance to change the narrative. New Zealand have been humbled this year, but any flickering flame of Welsh optimism was soon extinguished.
It was a display of ruthless efficiency by the All Blacks. Wales’s lack of depth up front was exposed. They failed to slow the breakdown, allowing New Zealand to launch phase after phase and inflict a death by a thousand cuts.
Guardian
There are the same old songs in the stands at Cardiff, and on Saturday it was the same old story on the pitch, too. Wales had reasons to believe that this game against New Zealand would be different to all the others they have played in the last seven decades: the All Blacks have lost four Tests already this year, had only just managed to scrape past Japan in Tokyo last week and were missing both their captain, Sam Cane, and the talismanic lock Brodie Retallick. Well, the game might have taken a fair few twists and turns but it finished up in exactly the same place as the last 32 between the teams. With New Zealand winning.
The final score, polished by a late flurry of three tries in the final few minutes, was 55-23, which equalled New Zealand’s record score against Wales set back in 2003. For long stretches the match was a lot closer than that makes it sound. In the periods either side of half-time the two teams traded tries and the match tipped crazily this way and that. Whenever Wales seemed to have hauled themselves back within reach, New Zealand would pull away again. Still, for those 40 minutes, the two teams fought on something close to level terms. The trouble was what happened either side.
The Telegraph
Every time you think the All Blacks are beginning to fade as a force they seem to find a way to keep you quiet. Last week's tight win over Japan was not overly impressive and prompted a few questions about how New Zealand would fare in their three Test matches against Wales, Scotland and England. Those queries were answered empathically in Cardiff with a first-rate performance which displayed a quality that the All Blacks were missing earlier this year – that ability to bludgeon and pummel their opponents into submission upfront.
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We are used to New Zealand cutting teams open with precision in attack out wide but this was something different, the kind of physicality every Test side desires to produce because by doing so, you become a nightmare for teams to defend against. Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric are both phenomenal defenders and produced an absurd 53 tackles between them (28 for Faletau, 25 for Tipuric), but those efforts pale into insignificance when you look at the final score of 23-55, because New Zealand never let up with the relentlessness of their ball-carrying before Wales eventually cracked.
The Times
New Zealand have been declining since they last came north, but while you could say that this team at the moment is efficient rather than elevated and unbeatable, you would also have to say that they were way too good for Wales.
They were quicker and stronger, and given the evidence of the final passages of play, when by international standards Wales could offer only token opposition, the All Blacks were fitter too.
Wales, who did have their moments, often have a dreadful autumn before thriving in the Six Nations. But these things can never be taken for granted and above anything, the sheer softness of their defence in the forwards was chilling. Wales could rumble through phase after phase and hardly make a yard, whereas the pass and drive from New Zealand around the rucks made acres and acres of territory.
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