Tom Rogers says fighting qualities helped him make hat-trick history with Wales

Wales wing Tom Rogers stepped out of the shadows to become the first British and Irish player to score a Test hat-trick against New Zealand and put it down to his “fighter” qualities.

Rogers enshrined his name in rugby history with an unforgettable treble as Wales suffered a 52-26 Autumn Nations Series defeat in Cardiff.

The 26-year-old’s heroics came after Wales boss Steve Tandy had dropped him from the side that had beaten Japan the previous weekend.

“I’ve always been a fighter and I wanted to prove to Tandy that I deserved a spot in the team,” said Rogers, who lasted only 45 minutes of the autumn opener against Argentina before being replaced by Louis Rees-Zammit.

“It was class and I’m really chuffed. It hasn’t really sunk in because as a kid it’s your dream to play for Wales against the All Blacks.

“From the Argentina and Japan games it was a massive improvement.

“We wanted to put our game on the pitch and I think we did that in the first hour.

“We attacked well, it’s just that the All Blacks were class in the second half. We can definitely take confidence from the game.”

Wales shipped seven tries in conceding over 50 points for the third time in four games at Principality Stadium.

But there were some green shoots of recovery as the hosts scored four tries of their own and the highest number of points in the 120-year history of playing against New Zealand in Cardiff.

“A lot of what we want to do and what we have been working on shone through,” captain Dewi Lake said after Wales had twice been reduced to 14 men due to yellow cards for Gareth Thomas and Taine Plumtree.

“For us (winning) it wasn’t a dream. We believe in our ability. We weren’t given a lot of hope from outside the group but inside that we back ourselves.

“We are a tough group full of character and we know we will push teams.

“We have built on what we said we going to, and it’s now about pushing on.”

Final fixture

Wales hope number eight Aaron Wainwright will be fit to face world champions South Africa on Saturday.

The 61-capped Dragons back rower was named in the side to play New Zealand but withdrew because of a hip injury.

Wales will be without 13 England and France-based players against the Springboks as the fixture falls outside World Rugby’s international window.

Tandy said: “They are world champions, so we might have to get a few reinforcements in.

“I think we’ll call up a few, we’ll have to assess around injuries.

“We’ll chat as a coaching group and with the medical staff. Touch wood, everyone has pulled through all right.”