Highlights - Wales 25-37 New Zealand

Captain Matthew Rees says Wales must learn from their mistakes if they are to make any progress following a disappointing autumn series.

Wales were beaten by Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, while they were also held to a dismal draw by Fiji.

But Rees insists they have been competitive in all of the games.

"We know at this level the difference is error and until we cut them out in our game, that's going to be difficult to get results," Rees said.

"We have played the three top teams in the world and from our point of view we have been able to match them up front physically and we have kept them in the game for long periods of time."

Wales began their November Tests with a 25-16 defeat to Australia, which was followed up by a 29-25 loss at the hands of world champions South Africa.

Last weekend, they were held to a 16-16 draw by Fiji which drew much criticism and saw Ryan Jones replaced by Scarlets hooker Rees as captain after the match.

Wales slightly redeemed themselves in Saturday's final game against New Zealand where they lost 37-25 and Rees believes they could have got more from the game.

"I think we're disappointed and frustrated to be honest," he said.

"We thought we could've had the win when we got back to 12-13 [behind] but there were a couple of errors that cost us soft tries.

"They were more clinical than us. I thought their attack was very good off turnover ball and that was the difference really. I thought their defence was very good and that's what wins you games.

"We're definitely disappointed because we thought we could take this game and it's important that we learn from the lessons from the autumn series and we'll front-up come the Six Nations."

Wales fly-half Stephen Jones, who claimed 20 of Wales' 25 points against New Zealand insists they are progressing, despite the results.

"Some elements of our game are pretty good," Jones said. "We are building and progressing as a side.

"Obviously people are going to say we haven't had any results of late, but I can assure you the performances are getting a lot better.

"Our standards are improving and we've got to make sure we front up and perform very well in the Six Nations and that's the key to this."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version