Warren Gatland has praised the character of his Wales side after their battling 29-10 defeat to New Zealand.
Future is positive for Wales says Gatland
Wales coach Warren Gatland has paid tribute to the character of his players in the wake of their battling 29-10 defeat to New Zealand on Saturday.
Gatland's men produced a much improved performance in Hamilton to restore some pride following last weekend's 42-9 demolition by the All Blacks in Dunedin.
Jamie Roberts played a starring role for the Welsh, being held up over the line before scoring the first try by a Welshman against New Zealand since Martyn Williams in 2006.
Gatland, who was himself born in Hamilton, said he was proud of his players' resilience in the face of an increasingly powerful looking All Black outfit at Waikato Satdium.
"The pleasing thing about today's performance is that the All Blacks tend to get stronger from game to game, particularly at the start of their campaigns," said the former New Zealand hooker.
"And these guys could have thought about getting on the plane tomorrow and going on holiday for six weeks and they didn't do that.
Improvement
"That is what I was really proud of. They showed some character out there and they wore that jersey with some real pride and as coaches that's what you're looking for."
Gatland, returning to the ground where he spent his club career, watched his side restrict the All Blacks to just one first-half try and 17 points from the boot of Daniel Carter until the final minute.
The coach said he was disappointed that Aaron Cruden got through for a late converted try and said he felt one apiece would have been a fairer reflection of the game and his team's performance.
"We're pretty gutted with the last try," he said. "We've had a couple of yellow cards, the penalty count has been quite heavy against us but I think it was a step up from last week.
"We've worked really hard on areas to stop the All Blacks counter-attack and making sure defensively we're stronger and I thought we made a big improvement in that area.
"I think if it had ended up with one try all we would have been more than happy. It's disappointing with that little kick through and Lee Byrne has fallen over and it's a soft seven-pointer at the end of the game."
Despite his side's improved effort Gatland accepted that a gap still remained between the two teams but he believes the two-Test tour has been a hugely beneficial experience for his players.
Frustrated
"There is a gap, we admit that, he added. "But we've got a massive amount of learning out of the last two weeks.
"That's what we keep saying about playing the best teams and coming to such a tough country to tour. For us and the future that's really positive."
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw had mixed views on the game and admitted he was frustrated that he had being unable to break loose as he had in the first Test.
"It was a bit frustrating," he said. "When we did hold the ball and get down their end it was penalties we were getting.
"We just kept it ticking over taking three points but it would have been nice to build pressure and score tries.
"Just turning over the ball let them off the hook a bit which is a bit disappointing.
""Even though we conceded the try at the end and being put under pressure like that I thought we defended pretty well."
