The chance to go for gold having eluded them, Wales faced New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup bronze-medal match which also happened to be Warren Gatland’s last game in charge during his first stint at Wales coach.
The All Blacks strolled to a 40-17 victory against opponents who were battered and bruised after their exertions against France in the quarter-finals and South Africa in the last four.
What has happened since to the players who started that day?
We take a look.
Hallam Amos
The skilful and talented back-three man scored a lovely try in this game, dummying before zipping past Richie Mo’unga, cutting inside and making it over the line. He was to win just three more caps before opting to pack in as a player to focus on his medical career.
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Owen Lane
The big Cardiff three-quarter had a few issues in defence in the bronze-medal match of three years ago, missing four tackles, but caught the eye with ball in hand. He’s added just three caps to his tally since, not helped by injuries.
Jonathan Davies
Gamely played despite having picked up an injury in a pool-stage match against Fiji. Davies would need 10 months on the sidelines before launching his return after the World Cup. He went on to skipper Wales, only to slip out of contention for recent campaigns.
Owen Watkin
The Ospreys man had turned 23 during the tournament and was still bedding in at Test level. He’s now up to 36 caps and featured in every Test in last term’s Six Nations, starting four of Wales’ five games. In contention for a World Cup squad place, then.
Josh Adams
Warren Gatland enjoyed his play when the Kiwi coached Wales the first time. Adams finished top try scorer at the 2019 World Cup with seven touchdowns and proved consistently strong for Wales. He’s still a front liner, albeit he played at full-back last time out amid injuries to Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny.
Rhys Patchell
A start at fly-half for Patchell, who had performed so impressively when guiding the Scarlets to the Pro12 title in 2016, but the flame-haired one has figured in only two more Tests since 2019, with injuries hampering his efforts.
Tomos Williams
The Cardiff man had played in all six of Wales’ previous 2019 World Cup games but as a replacement. The game with the All Blacks was a chance to prove a point as a starter. He has since hoisted his cap tally to 40 and was the first-choice nine during the recent autumn Tests.
Nicky Smith
Wales seemed to develop something of a blindspot over him during the Wayne Pivac era, with Smith starting just three Tests despite consistently impressive regional form. Thirty-five minutes in the recent round of internationals did not seem to fairly reflect the form Smith had been in. He’ll hope for better fortune under Gatland.
Ken Owens
The old warhorse went on to play for the Lions in 2021, featuring in all three Tests under Gatland. Emerged from Wales’ 2022 November games with his reputation intact after a successful return from injury.
Dillon Lewis
Pressed into a starting role after an injury to Tomas Francis against South Africa in the semi-final, the tighthead who can come up with improbable turnovers became a first-choice under Pivac this autumn.
Adam Beard
Gatland had previously made the point that you can’t coach size and he liked what the 6ft 8in Beard offered. Two years later, the big man was a Lions tourist and he became a stalwart under Pivac.
Alun Wyn Jones
A man who Gatland had nothing but praise for after the tournament in Japan in 2019. Three years on, some have pointed to Jones’ advancing years, but the 37-year-old performed as well as ever against Australia recently, rolling back the years.
Justin Tipuric
Wales’ captain for Pivac’s ill-fated final campaign and among the top-performing players against New Zealand and Argentina. Pivac liked his game intelligence as well as what he offered around the field. Likely to keep a prominent position under Gatland.
James Davies
The inimitable flanker with the knack of conjuring multiple turnovers almost every time he took the field picked up a series of injuries after the World Cup and was forced to call it a day last term, never recovering from a concussion sustained against Georgia in 2020.
Ross Moriarty
Gatland had picked Moriarty for the 2017 Lions tour and he featured in every Wales game at the 2019 World Cup. Surprisingly left out of Pivac’s final squad. It would be a surprise if he didn’t return to favour under Gatland.
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