A minute's silence and the All Blacks' first rendition of Kapa O Pango on their third unbeaten tour of the UK and Ireland in five years set the scene for a clash that was far from the mismatch anticipated, until Isaia Toeava and John Afoa scored within eight minutes from fulltime to produce a deceptively inflated margin.
Lampooned after drawing with Fiji last weekend, and supposedly in disarray after Ryan Jones was replaced as captain in the aftermath of that shock result, Wales were unrecognisable in personnel -- and performance -- as they provided the All Blacks with one of the toughest tests of their 14-match schedule in 2010.
Hemmed in their own half for long spells, the All Blacks had to cope with a huge defensive workload -- and the sinbinning of replacement loose forward Daniel Braid in the 50th minute -- before efficiently closing out their 24th successive victory against Wales, a sequence stretching back 57 years.
Hosea Gear provided some necessary breathing space with his second try in the left hand corner three minutes after New Zealand were reduced to 14 men, when Irish referee Alan Lewis tired of the visitors' infringing at the breakdown.
Gear squeezed over despite George North's desperate lunge, a finish reminiscent of his try at Twickenham -- the performance that cemented his place on the left wing.
Carter added the extras, and his penalty heading into the final quarter -- as Braid was about to return -- enabled the All Blacks to outscore Wales 10-3 while depleted, a demoralising blow for the hosts.
Wing Toeava, another find of the tour, was then put in space by Anthony Boric in the 72nd minute. Replacement prop Afoa then found clear air to score the first try of his 30-test career.
Dan Carter, test rugby's most prolific scorer from the eighth minute when he goaled a long-range penalty, ultimately collected 12 points to leave him on 1188, 10 clear of Jonny Wilkinson.
Carter was overshadowed in the goalkicking stakes by counterpart Stephen Jones, who missed only one of seven attempts in producing 20 points through six penalties and the conversion of Lee Byrne's last-minute consolation try.
Welsh hopes of an upset were raised from the outset when Jones goaled an opening minute penalty after he was impeded by Gear after kicking downfield.
Gear was injured in the minor collision but was able to atone for his lapse four minutes later when he crossed in the corner, after a Sonny Bill Williams offload initiated an excellent burst by Toeava, who beat three defenders before flinging a pass for his fellow wing to collect and stroll over.
Carter missed the difficult conversion but duly overtook Englishman Wilkinson's 1178-point haul with a 48-metre effort from in front.
Other than his landmark goal, the first half of Carter's 79th test was not one of his finest -- he missed three other shots and was harried in general play.
In contrast to the first five-eighth, veteran fullback Mils Muliaina, a contender for the International Rugby Board's player of the year award, justified that nomination with a strong display highlighted by a superb finish to an All Black counter-attack in the 21st minute.
A Mike Phillips clearance proved the catalyst for Muliaina's 32nd test try when the All Blacks spread the ball wide before Carter popped a pass for the fullback to surge 35m before swan-diving over the line.
Leading 13-3 after the opening quarter, it appeared the All Blacks were on the verge of a Murrayfield-style blowout but Wales refused to buckle and narrowed the margin to four at halftime through the accurate boot of Jones.
He was on target in the 32nd minute shortly after desperate defence by Muliaina and Jimmy Cowan prevented James Hook from scoring when he lost the ball forward, centimetres from the chalk.
A collapsed scrum provided the platform for Jones's penalty a minute from the break, reinvigorating a passive capacity crowd of 74,000, who maintained their optimism until Toeava and Afoa's late thrusts.
The All Blacks had to rearrange their loose forward trio when Kieran Read, who had played in every All Black tests this season, retired with a leg injury four minutes from halftime to give Braid rare game time.
