Wales Stuns New Zealand 35-28 for First Win Over the All Blacks in 73 Years
Wales stunned New Zealand 35-28 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, beating the All Blacks for the first time in 73 years in a nine-try Nations Championship thriller. The win ended a run of 34 straight defeats against New Zealand that stretched back to December 1953, and it ranks among the greatest upsets in the history of Test rugby.
Wales led 14-0, 21-7 and 35-21, never trailed at any point, and then held on through a ferocious final quarter as New Zealand threw everything at a seven-point lead. When the final whistle sounded, Welsh players and fans were in tears.
How Wales pulled off the upset
Wales set the tone from the first minute. Scrum-half Tomos Williams scored after just two minutes, pouncing after his own chip ahead, and captain Dewi Lake crashed over from a well-worked forward move soon after. Both tries were converted by Sam Costelow, and for the first time ever Wales led New Zealand by 14 points.
New Zealand, the world’s second-ranked team, regrouped. Scrum-half Cortez Ratima, number eight Wallace Sititi and wing Fehi Fineanganofo all crossed, and Richie Mo’unga’s conversion levelled the score at 21-21 at half-time. Prop Archie Griffin had added Wales’ third try in between, diving over after centre Max Llewellyn was first denied under the posts.
The script said New Zealand would pull away after the break. Wales had other ideas. Williams was again the architect, his long pass sending centre Eddie James over, and then another sweeping pass released wing Louis Rees-Zammit for the fifth Welsh try — the most Wales have ever scored against the All Blacks in a single match. When flanker Peter Lakai burrowed over for New Zealand in the 53rd minute, the gap was back to seven points, and the All Blacks had 27 minutes to find a way through.
They never did. Wales produced a defensive performance for the ages, making 346 tackles, with lock Dafydd Jenkins leading the count on 36. New Zealand got over the Wales tryline three times in the final quarter and were held up on every occasion: Wallace Sititi by replacement prop Gareth Thomas in the 60th minute, Xavier Numia by flanker James Botham in the 65th, and Leicester Fainga’anuku by Dan Edwards in the 70th. Two more attacks of more than 20 phases were turned over by replacement number eight Taine Plumtree inside the Wales 22.
A drought that lasted a lifetime
The scale of the wait is hard to overstate. Wales last beat New Zealand on 19 December 1953, a 13-8 win at the old Arms Park in Cardiff, when Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister and tries were worth only three points. Wales had won the first three meetings between the sides, in 1905, 1935 and 1953, but Saturday’s victory was only the fourth in 39 encounters.
Some of the greatest names in Welsh rugby never managed it. Legends such as Gareth Edwards, Alun Wyn Jones, Shane Williams, JPR Williams, Barry John and Phil Bennett all finished their careers without a win over the All Blacks. On the All Blacks’ last three visits to Cardiff, Wales had conceded 50 points each time.
The odds reflected that history. Some bookmakers offered 20-1 on a Wales victory, and only 55,152 supporters turned up — the lowest crowd for a Wales-New Zealand match at the Principality Stadium. Those who stayed away missed one of the finest performances in Welsh rugby history.
Wales arrived in poor form. The side finished last in the Six Nations, sat second from bottom in the northern pool of the Nations Championship, and had only just beaten Japan 28-21 the previous weekend. Coach Steve Tandy made four changes to that side, and his team responded with a performance built on attacking ambition and extraordinary defensive resilience, led by flankers James Botham and Jac Morgan and lock Dafydd Jenkins.
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Why this matters
The Associated Press called it perhaps the biggest upset in Test rugby since Japan defeated South Africa at the 2015 World Cup. Wales were eight places below New Zealand in the world rankings before kick-off, and the All Blacks had won 34 meetings in a row.
For Welsh rugby, which has been in the doldrums on and off the field since the 2023 World Cup, the win is a moment of hope. Former captain Sam Warburton, watching as a pundit, called it an unbelievable achievement and said it was the proudest he had felt watching Wales since retiring. The victory also arrived on a day of sporting shocks: Portugal’s 4-1 defeat by Denmark in their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo’s international retirement, Oregon’s 31-7 rout of Michigan, and Wake Forest’s 49-7 rout of SMU all underlined how unpredictable Saturday’s sport had been.
Latest developments
Wales’ players celebrated long after the final whistle, and the result will be talked about in Cardiff for years. New Zealand, who had made eight changes from the side that beat Scotland 43-21, will regroup with one weekend of regular Nations Championship matches remaining. Beauden Barrett, captaining the All Blacks for the first time in his 149th Test, could not inspire a comeback as Wales’ defence held firm to the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Wales last beat New Zealand before Saturday?
On 19 December 1953, when Wales won 13-8 at the Arms Park in Cardiff. Wales then lost the next 34 meetings before Saturday’s 35-28 victory.
Who scored Wales’ tries against New Zealand?
Tomos Williams, captain Dewi Lake, prop Archie Griffin, centre Eddie James and wing Louis Rees-Zammit scored Wales’ five tries. Sam Costelow converted the first-half tries.
What competition was the match played in?
The Nations Championship, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Wales led 14-0, 21-7 and 35-21, with the score level at 21-21 at half-time, before holding on for a 35-28 win.
Wales waited 73 years for this win, and when it finally came, it was earned the hard way: five tries, 346 tackles and a defensive stand in the final quarter that New Zealand could not break. Steve Tandy’s side now has a famous victory to build on, and a nation that had almost stopped believing has a day it will never forget.
Sources: Associated Press (https://www.alabamas42.com/sports/ap-wales-stuns-all-blacks-35-28-for-the-first-time-in-73-years/), BBC Sport Wales (https://fullview.co.za/wales-beat-the-all-blacks-for-first-time-since-1953/), The Observer (https://observer.co.uk/news/sport/article/brilliant-battling-wales-beat-all-blacks-for-first-time-in-73-years), FOX Sports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/en-AU/news/rugby-union/rugby-union-nations-championship-2026-all-black-lose-to-wales-for-the-first-time-since-1953/1h6kvpsbzh6ua1buoi8t9uegfl)
