Wales captain Sam Warburton insists the series defeat to New Zealand will only serve to benefit his team in the future.
Saturday’s 46-6 defeat in Dunedin extended New Zealand’s winning run over Warren Gatland’s side – who finished second in this year’s RBS 6 Nations – to 29 games in 63 years.
It wrapped up a dominant series for the All Blacks, 16 tries in three games helping them overcome strong Welsh starts in the first two Tests to secure a 3-0 whitewash on home soil.
But despite seeing his troops slump to their heaviest loss in 13 years, Warburton insists they must focus on the positives and take lessons from their time in the southern hemisphere.
“We gave it everything we had to give, but they were just way too good for us in Dunedin,” Warburton told the WRU website. “We fell off too many tackles and I don’t know what the reason was for that exactly.
“It was one of those days when they were a heck of a lot better than us and we just had to put our hands up and say it was one of those days. It was definitely a tough one.
“But being exposed to that level of rugby is only going to benefit us in the long run. It might have been better if we’d gone home after those first two Tests, but I’m glad we had the third game because it was a bit of a reality check.
“It made us all realise what we’ve got to work on when we get home – our physicality, fitness levels and individual skills.”
