Beauden Barrett marked his 100th test with two intercepted tries to lead New Zealand to a convincing 54-16 win over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The All Blacks outscored their hosts by seven tries to one at a capacity Principality Stadium in another ominous reminder of their power as they went back to the top of the world rankings.<\/p>\n
TJ Perenara, Will Jordan, Dalton Papali, Sevu Reece and Anton Lienart-Brown also dotted down with Jordie Barrett adding three penalties and five conversions for a personal tally of 19 points.<\/p>\n
Wales, who lost skipper Alun Wyn Jones to injury early on, replied with a try from Johnny Williams and penalties from Gareth Anscombe (2) and Rhys Priestland.<\/p>\n
2 Related<\/p>\n
Captain Jones, in his 149th appearance for Wales, was forced off with a shoulder injury as he attempted to tackle Jordie Barrett. It was the same one dislocated playing for the British & Irish Lions against Japan in June.<\/p>\n
New Zealand ran riot in the final 20 minutes with a display of running rugby that even the most ardent Welsh supporters could not help but admire, but it was Barrett's early try that laid the platform for their victory.<\/p>\n
The former World Rugby Player of the year took only five minutes to intercept a pass from Wales fly-half Gareth Ainscombe and run down the pitch to dot between the posts.<\/p>\n
Perenara added another try about 30 minutes later but the All Blacks had a tenuous 18-6 lead at half time and started the second half down to 14 men when Nepo Laulale was yellow-carded for a no-arm tackle on Ross Moriarty.<\/p>\n
But when the rain began to pour, the Kiwis were at their devastating best with a clever kick and chase for Jordan's 55th-minute try, followed by four more in a rampant last 15 minutes, including another interception for the centurion on the final whistle.<\/p>\n
Wales, who were without their English-based players, had one highlight when Priestland's clever kick allowed Williams to rush through and dot down ahead of the Kiwi defence for their only try on the hour mark.<\/p>\n
\"We wanted to ramp it up a bit there in the second half. We were happy with the outcome after a different week for us, coming across from playing in Washington,\" All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock said.<\/p>\n
Wales take on world champions South Africa next in the Autumn international series while New Zealand travel to Rome to play Italy.<\/p>\n
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New Zealand overcome Wales in convincing win to return to top of world rankings - ESPN<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beauden Barrett marked his 100th test with two intercepted tries to lead New Zealand to a convincing 54-16 win over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. Continue reading