Wales end 73-year wait to beat the All Blacks (35-28)

Wales had beaten the All Blacks in 1905, 1935 and 1953. They had to wait 73 years for the fourth.

14-0 after five minutes

Tomos Williams opened the scoring in the first minute, following up a Louis Rees-Zammit chip. Captain Dewi Lake scored the second try from the scrum-half’s pass after a penalty kicked to touch: 14-0 after five minutes. Cortez Ratima replied (9th), Archie Griffin made it 21-7 (23rd), then Wallace Sititi (30th) and Fehi Fineanganofo, with the last play of the first half, brought the All Blacks back to 21-21 at the break.

It felt like a brick wall at times.

Beauden Barrett | Post-match press conference

Two tries, then nothing

Eddie James (43rd) and Rees-Zammit (47th), both set up by Williams, restored Wales’ 14-point lead: 35-21. Peter Lakai cut the gap in the 52nd minute. Those were the last points of the match. New Zealand were held up over the line three times.

We started both halves poorly and conceded 14 points quickly.

Dave Rennie | Post-match press conference

323 tackles, a record

Wales made 323 tackles, against 139 for New Zealand. In their 125 matches with detailed statistics since 2007, they had never made more than 253, with an average of 138. The All Blacks had 62% of possession, 67% after the break, and 71% of territory in the second half. They gained 703 metres to 316 and made 10 clean breaks to 3.

Average and record across matches with detailed statistics. In attack, Tomos Williams made four try assists, one more than his previous best.

“It felt like a brick wall at times,” Beauden Barrett told the post-match press conference. He was captain for the first time in his 149th Test. Dave Rennie had made eight changes after the win over Scotland (43-21). “We started both halves poorly and conceded 14 points quickly,” the head coach said.

The players were phenomenal. New Zealand threw everything at us.

Steve Tandy | Post-match press conference

Five tries, a first

Wales had never scored five tries against New Zealand. Their best was four, at the 2003 World Cup (37-53) and in November 2025 (26-52). A week earlier, Steve Tandy’s side had only beaten Japan 28-21. “The players were phenomenal. New Zealand threw everything at us,” the Wales head coach told the press conference. His side host Australia next Saturday, 21 November.

The crowd of 55,152 was the lowest of the fourteen Wales v New Zealand matches at the Principality Stadium, according to the BBC. In the Nations Championship, the All Blacks still go top of the southern conference thanks to the two bonus points they took from Cardiff.