NEW ZEALAND put on a second-half show to to waltz to a series victory over Wales.
It was a case of deja vu for Warren Gatland’s side, who conceded 26 unanswered points at the start of the second period on the way to a 36-22 triumph.
Julian Savea continued his strong start to international rugby off the bench
Alun Wyn Jones dotted down at the corner on the stroke of half-time to cancel out Isreal Dagg’s early try and level it up at 10-10. But the world champions ran riot after the break.
Ben Smith broke clear to kickoff the try-scoring masterclass before Beauden Barrett, Waisake Naholo and Ardie Savea scored to go 2-0 up in the three-match series.
Liam Williams broke clear to score from 50 metres to spark a late fight-back.
But by the time Jonathan Davies had used all his strength to barge over, it was too little, too late.
The Test series may be beyond Wales, but they still have the chance to get some revenge in Dunedin next weekend.
Jamie Roberts set the tone for another fierce encounter with a hard tackle on All Blacks centre Malakai Fekitoa.
Warren Gatland’s men went on the offensive from the off and found space in wide areas.
The early pressure forced New Zealand flanker Sam Cain into offending at a ruck, and Dan Biggar made no mistake from 40 metres to give Wales an early lead.
But the world champions showed their class to hit-back.
Flying wing Waiaski Naholo raced clear down the left wing, before Ross Moriarty illegally slowed the ball down at a ruck.
Aaron Cruden opted to prod the ball out for a lineout at the corner, and the gamble paid off.
The ball was worked right to Fekitoa from the set-piece, and he found the returning Dagg, who dummied past Rhys Patchell to score his 15th Test match try. Cruden converted to put the All Blacks 7-3 ahead.
New Zealand began to look more and more like the world champions after getting heir noses in-front.
Ben Smith’s elusive footwork helped his side get within striking distance, before the visitors gave another penalty away deep in their own 22.
Israel Dagg crashes over for the games opening try on his 50th cap
Cruden kicked the the easy three points after 29 minutes, before his game was ended with a serious-looking neck injury.
But Jonathan Davies hauled Wales back into the contest at half-time.
The centre smashed through Beauden Barrett in the New Zealand midfield to put Wales on the front-foot.
Rhys Webb spread the ball right, before shifting it back the other way.
Biggar passed to Roberts, who handed the ball off to Davies, who looped a pass over Smith into the hands of Jones, who dotted down at the corner.
Biggar kicked the conversion from the touchline to level it up at 10-10 at half-time.
But two tries in two minutes put the Dragons’ fire out.
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Sam Warburton broke clear as Wales looked to pile on the pressure, but Ben Smith beat Hallam Amos down the right wing to score moments later.
And it got even worse when replacement outside-half Barrett wrestled past Dan Biggar and stretched to score after 55 minutes.
He converted his own try to send the All Blacks into a 24-10 advantage after 55 minutes.
And it got even worse for Warren Gatland on the hour-mark, when Kieran Read combined with Aaron Smith at the back of a scrum to setup a walk-over try for Naholo.
Replacement flanker Savea showed try-scoring runs in the family as he stepped inside to put the gloss on the victory.
Wales showed their character with a late flourish. First, Williams used every ounce of energy with five minutes later to burst clear on half-way.
The Scarlets full-back beat TJ Perenara in a foot-race, but it looked to be too little, too late.
But then Jamie Roberts charged down a loose kick in midfield to charge towards the New Zealand line.
He found Rhys Priestland, who offloaded to Davies, and the powerful centre fended off the covering defender with a strong hand-off to score.
Priestland could not find the target with the conversion, but the late tries gave the scoreboard a respectable 36-22 look.
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