STOP me if you think you’ve heard this one before: Wales were given a hammering by New Zealand after being run ragged by the Smiths.

The thrashing that had been feared at the hands of the All Blacks finally came in the third Test in Dunedin with the hosts running in six tries and having the job done early in the second half.

After plucky and brave performances in defeat in Auckland and Wellington, Warren Gatland’s men fell off and were ruthlessly punished by the world champions.

Wales looked tired after a long, draining season and didn’t help themselves with loose play, particularly when putting boot to ball against a back three that is the most dangerous in rugby, regardless of who gets picked.

Head coach Gatland has long been a believer in testing oneself against the best and they certainly did that; while England and Ireland have done well against Australia and South Africa respectively, there was little chance of them recording a first win against the All Blacks since 1953.

But now the pressure will be on when they reconvene in the autumn to face the Wallabies, Argentina, Japan and the Springboks after a 5-0 summer whitewash, England and the Chiefs also having enjoyed victories.

Questions remain about the depth of the Welsh squad and the returns of Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric will be welcome while other key figures will benefit from a rest after a marathon World Cup year.

Steve Hansen has no such worries and while the New Zealand head coach rang the changes with the series won and with an eye on the upcoming Rugby Championship, he was still able to call on the services of some established global greats.

Scrum-half Aaron Smith pulled the strings wonderfully to leave Wales chasing shadows with his distribution while wing Ben Smith led the charge with ball in hand when exposing the tourists’ shoddy kicking.

They set the tone for fly-half Beauden Barrett to ooze class in the second half while the new captain Kieran Read was immense and new boys settled swiftly… was it only a month ago we were wondering how the All Blacks would come to terms with life without Richie, Dan, Conrad and Ma’a?

There was no sign of what was to come in the first quarter when Wales led 6-3, two Dan Biggar penalties to one by Barrett, after a composed start in which they dominated possession.

South Wales Argus:

However, the All Blacks grew into the game and struck in the 24th minute with a sumptuous score.

They had worked into prime attacking with a delightful counter-attack by Barrett and Ben Smith and, after the latter was held up over the line, followed up with a scrum that will give Tomas Francis nightmares after he was shunted up into the air.

Captain Kieran Read opted for another scrum, they hammered the line then scrum-half Aaron Smith put livewire Ben Smith over with a delightful pass.

It was a quite remarkable finish by the winger under pressure from the scrambling Dragons speedster Hallam Amos, who targeted the left arm only for the classy Smith to somehow hold on, dive towards the flag and ground just before his right knee hit the grass.

Barrett missed the conversion but swiftly banged over a penalty as the All Blacks put the squeeze on.

George Moala botched a marvelous chance after yet another counter-attack from loose kicking, held up over the line by a terrific Liam Williams effort, but the centre didn’t have to wait long for his score.

One of countless loose kicks to the ultra-dangerous Kiwi back three was run back by Israel Dagg, exposing full-back Rhys Patchell, and the hosts flew into the 22, recycled quickly and spread the ball wide right for Moala to dart over.

Barrett converted to make it 18-6 approaching the break only for Wales to blow a chance to cut the deficit.

They went close with some pick and drives, opted for a scrum from a penalty to keep the pressure on, went close again after a big Jamie Roberts carry but then some loose play saw Amos knock on 10 metres out.

A good start to the second half was essential to avoid a first thumping of the series… instead they began sloppily and allowed the dimunitive Barrett to wriggle over far too easily from a five-metre scrum before converting for 25-6.

The home momentum was thankfully stalled by a yellow card for openside Sam Cane after a breakdown offence but Wales still struggled to get a foothold despite their man advantage.

But it was soon back to usual with Barrett exposing some naïve defending by Amos to dance over, soon followed by hooker Dane Coles after yet more wonderful work by Aaron Smith.

At 39-6 the game drifted to its conclusion in the final quarter before Wales went for one last consolation after the clock had passed 80 minutes.

Instead their date in Dunedin was summed up by a turnover that saw full-back Dagg race clear from his 22 with Barrett plunging the knife in to make it 46-6, a fair reflection of a humbling finale to 2015/16.

Wales: R Patchell, L Williams (S Williams 31-38), J Davies, J Roberts (S Williams 53), H Amos, D Biggar (R Priestland 59), R Webb (G Davies 54), R Evans (A Jarvis 46), K Owens (S Baldwin 56), T Francis (S Lee 46), L Charteris (J Ball 59), AW Jones, R Moriarty, S Warburton (captain, E Jenkins 70), T Faletau.

Scorers: penalties – D Biggar (2)

New Zealand: I Dagg, B Smith, G Moala (W Naholo 48), R Crotty (L Sopoaga 54), J Savea, B Barrett, A Smith(T Kerr-Barlow 72), J Moody (W Crockett 52), D Coles (C Taylor 72), C Faumuina (O Tu'ungafasi 52), B Retallick (L Romano 65), S Whitelock, E Dixon (L Squire 55), S Cane, K Read (captain).

Scorers: tries – B Smith, G Moala, B Barrett, D Coles, I Dagg; conversions – B Barrett (5); penalties – B Barrett (2)

Referee: Jerome Garces