Depleted Wales taught a lesson by ruthless All Black finishing as autumn internationals threaten to unvravel

Failure to beat South Africa in their final Test this year - without any of their Premiership players - will sound the alarm bells for Warren Gatland and his threadbare squad

Waisake Naholo scores one of New Zealand's five tries against Wales (Getty)

For all the optimistic pre-match talk of New Zealand being vulnerable it was Wales who were handed a lesson in finishing on Saturday by two bulldozing wingers who are both reminiscent of a youthful Jonah Lomu.

Five tries to two in favour of Steve Hansen’s men tells its own story – four of them scored by the hulking duo of Waisake Naholo and Rieko Ioane – as Wales were emphatically thumped 33-18 at the Principality Stadium despite a score line which hinted otherwise

All Black half-backs Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett played a game of such breath-taking simplicity – built around the often overlooked skill of being able to pass the ball with precision and calm – some mistakenly thought they’d had quiet games.

Possessing two wingers with a combined weight of 208kg, combined with raw pace and sublime handling skills, all Smith and Barrett needed to be was conduits. They did so to perfection.

In truth, every time Wales came close to threatening the All Blacks with a bloody nose they were dealt a hammer blow in return by a team which has historically come out fighting when their backs are against the wall.

This lot are no different, and Warren Gatland’s men now head into next Saturday’s fourth and final encounter of the Under Armour series against South Africa facing the very real prospect of finishing the autumn with three defeats from four.

Reiko Ioane also scored as the All Blacks taught Wales a lesson in clinical finishing (Getty)

Throw in the calamitous and contentious 13-6 win over tier two outfit Georgia and that would add up to a disastrous campaign for Wales and Gatland, who began the autumn let’s not forget by insisting this group of Welsh players have the potential to win the World Cup in 2019.

To make matters worse, the Wales head coach is almost certain to be without his English-based players, including talismanic No8 Taulupe Faletau and tight-head prop Tomas Francis, as next Saturday’s Test falls outside of the November Test window and England’s Premiership clubs have no obligation to make players available for international duty.

An Aviva Premiership spokesman on Saturday indicated his organisation’s position has not changed, leaving Gatland’s already battle-damaged squad bordering on the threadbare. With South Africa rallying after their humiliating loss to Ireland with back-to-back wins over France and Italy, the omens do not look good for Wales.

Whisper it, but for all the talk of attacking enterprise and a new dawn of three-quarter play, this could in fact be a squad in decline.

Dan Biggar gestures during Wales' 33-18 defeat by New Zealand (Getty)

Certainly, without their front-line stars, who have taken a heavy injury toll and are potentially suffering the consequences of their high British & Irish Lions representation, the squad simply doesn’t have the depth to cope with more absentees.

Scrum-half Rhys Webb suffered a nasty head injury on Saturday which left him lurching alarmingly across the pitch before being removed and lock Jake Ball also suffered what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder which could keep him out for some months. Neither man is expected to be fit to face the Springboks.

Wales’ medical team, heavily criticised for their mishandling George North’s head injuries against England in 2015, should be applauded for first spotting and then removing the stricken Webb from the field. In years gone by he would have been allowed to continue but he was taken off and not subjected to a Head Injury Assessment. Credit where credit is due.

But these are straws upon which to cling to. With Sam Warburton (neck), Ross Moriarty (back), George North (knee) and Jonathan Davies (foot) all side-lined for extended periods of time, Wales are not set to enjoy an especially happy festive period.

This autumn has hinted at Wales being a squad in decline (Getty)

Openside flanker Josh Navidi can certainly be proud of his contribution to Saturday’s Test match as he went toe to toe with All Black No 7 Sam Cane and finished in credit. Navidi’s carrying was relentless and effective while his tackling and work at the breakdown contrasted starkly to some of Wales clumsy ball-handling and leaden-footed defence.

The way Ioane cut them to ribbons just before the final whistle showed clear signs of a defensive system which is beginning to creak badly.

Their scrum was at least vastly improved on the opening two encounters with Australia and Georgia, although it couldn’t really have been any worse. But three line-outs lost on their own ball cancelled out any set-piece uplift they experienced elsewhere.

When the All Blacks are in this mood they let their rugby do the talking.

For Wales, it is now 30 Test defeats and 64 years since they’ve beaten New Zealand. More pertinently it’s now two defeats from this this autumn.

Another defeat on Saturday against South Africa and alarm bells really will be ringing.