KEY POINTS:
Welsh rugby greats Barry John and Graham Price almost stayed the distance.
The five eighths and prop who were such brilliant performers for Wales and the Lions watched the bulk of the All Blacks 29-9 victory to claim the third leg of the Grand Slam against Wales, eyes on the track, scarcely exchanging a word as they hoped a 55-year drought might be overturned.
But when Ma'a Nonu scored a converted try and soon after Daniel Carter kicked another penalty to have the visitors 19-9 ahead inside the last quarter, they started scraping their chairs to mull over the match for their newspaper columns and interested colleagues.
Wales had hung tough and made a fair chunk of the play in the opening spell yet only had a 9-6 lead against a committed All Black defence. The famous duo probably dared to think Wales might have claimed a special day in their nation's rugby history.
However the second half, while not an All Black tidal wave, was a much improved display of power, pace and possession so they were able to pin Wales for long periods in their own territory. The shift in pressure accounted for the famous pair scraping their chairs back and easing into discussions about what might have been and how Wales had taken the battle to the visitors.
When the dust cleared after Jerome Kaino scored on the bell and Carter converted, Wales had suffered a slightly larger losing margin than Ireland. However they had played a far better brand of rugby, they had asked the All Blacks many more questions and shown that given more matches like that yesterday, had the talent to chase the black invaders very hard in the next few years.
"We brought the best out of the All Blacks which is what we wanted to do," said Welsh coach Warren Gatland. "Clearly they are the best side in the world at the moment. We could not keep our intensity up for the whole game."
Gatland could not see England halting the All Blacks' march to a repeat Grand Slam next weekend at Twickenham.
"Probably not after the performance and result today," he said hinting at the All Blacks success and England plunge to their highest losing margin at home against the Springboks.
While some of the All Blacks attack on this tour has been mixed, and they were ruffled yesterday by the blitz defence used by Wales, they have not conceded a try against any of the three Home Nations they have played, just six successful penalties.
Only the Wallabies and Munster have crossed the All Blacks line.
Wales went close in the first half when impressive fullback Lee Byrne sashayed through, Stephen Jones wriggled near on another occasion but those forays were too rare.
All Black coach Graham Henry went so far as to rate the second half the best his side had played all year.
He might have added on a Saturday in Wales in November but we knew what he meant.
In a pattern which is becoming familiar, they had to soak up the heat, wear their rivals down and then administer a killer blow or two.
The All Blacks played well to beat the Boks 19-0 in Cape Town this season and the second spell in Brisbane to regain the Bledisloe Cup against a better opposition was other robust performance. However Henry's immediate reaction probably showed some of the relief his team discovered another gear in the second half.
There were also the signs of the best scrummaging work on tour which was a great response after Tony Woodcock's injury last week and Neemia Tialata spending a chunk of the week in bed with the flu.
The All Blacks finished over the top of Wales who soaked up some time and tested the patience of referee Jonathan Kaplan as much as they could with regular injury breaks.
Captain Richie McCaw said most of his side watched the Kiwis upset the Kangaroos in the World Cup rugby league final. It had been a great boost to watch a side which had been written off thumb their noses at the odds.
This week he and the coaching staff will demand the All Blacks do not sag under their favourites tag against England as the Kangaroos did yesterday.
