Wales beat New Zealand 35-28 for first win against All Blacks since 1953

Wales stun New Zealand 35-28 for first win since 1953

Wales pulled off one of rugby's biggest shocks by defeating New Zealand 35-28 in the Nations Championship at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, ending a winless sequence against the All Blacks that stretched back to 1953. Steve Tandy's side outscored the visitors by five tries to four, bringing an end to a 34-match losing streak against New Zealand. The victory marked only the fourth time Wales has beaten New Zealand in 39 meetings and immediately reshaped the global rugby landscape, sending the Springboks back to No 1 in the world rankings after the All Blacks lost two full points.

That seismic upset in Cardiff on Saturday had instant ripple effects across the international game. Despite the defeat, New Zealand retains a one-point advantage over the Springboks in the Nations Championship southern standings after claiming two losing bonus-points. Meanwhile, England prepares to host a wounded All Blacks team at Allianz Stadium Twickenham on Saturday, November 21, with a 2.10pm kick-off, after England scrum coach Tom Harrison dismissed suggestions that his squad might be distracted by the upcoming fixture. For Wales, the victory carries an entirely new aura into their third Nations Championship Test of the autumn against Australia at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, November 21, with an 8.10pm kick-off.

How the 35-28 scoreline unfolded in Cardiff

Wales made an astonishing start when winger Louis Rees-Zammit chipped ahead and scrum-half Tomos Williams scored off a kind bounce after just 90 seconds. Williams delivered a superb individual performance, also providing the assist for captain Dewi Lake to score from a rolling maul after a burst from Jac Morgan in the seventh minute. Tighthead prop Archie Griffin powered over in the 23rd minute to establish a 21-7 lead, though New Zealand scrum-half Cortez Ratima kept the visitors in the game.

The All Blacks underlined their quality before the break as No 8 Wallace Sititi and wing Fehi Fineanganofo dotted down following a move started in his own half by Richie Mo'unga, leveling the score at 21-21 at half-time after a Wales error trying to play on deep in their own half instead of kicking out. Steve Tandy made five changes from the narrow win over Japan, including starting Adam Beard at lock alongside Dafydd Jenkins to improve success at the lineout.

The hosts caught the visitors cold again at the start of the second half. Williams set up another try with a miss-three pass to find centre Eddie James in the left corner in the 44th minute, and Rees-Zammit scored five minutes later following a five-metre lineout to push the lead to 35-21. Flanker Peter Lakai quickly narrowed the deficit to seven with a try converted by Mo'unga, setting up a tense final quarter where the All Blacks camped inside the Wales 22.

New Zealand's tries from Ratima, Sititi, Fineanganofo, and Lakai were all converted by Mo'unga.

Can immense defense outweigh a 25-minute siege?

The remainder of the match tested Welsh resolve to its absolute limit as the All Blacks attacked in wave after wave for the final 25 minutes. Wales held New Zealand up over the try-line three times in the last quarter, with Gareth Thomas holding up Wallace Sititi in the 60th minute, James Botham denying Xavier Numia in the 65th, and Dan Edwards stopping Leicester Fainga’anuku in the 70th. Taine Plumtree also secured two crucial turnovers inside the Wales 22 during attacks of 20-plus phases, while Jac Morgan delivered a superb breakdown turnover following a 21-phase All Blacks attack.

The odds beforehand had been heavily stacked against the hosts. Wales had conceded 50 points to the All Blacks on their last three visits to Cardiff, finished last in the Six Nations, placed second-to-last in the northern hemisphere pool of the Nations Championship, and barely beat Japan the previous weekend. Those factors contributed to an attendance of 55,000—some 20,000 below a sell-out and the lowest crowd for a Wales-New Zealand match since the national stadium opened in 1999. Yet eighty minutes transformed a side trapped in the pits of a historic losing streak into a team capable of rewriting seven decades of rugby history.