Wales defeat New Zealand for first time since 1953

Match result and scoreline

The home side won their first match against the All Blacks since 1953. Wales scored tries from Tomos Williams, Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin, Eddie James, Louis Rees-Zammit, Taine Basham, Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Costelow and Mo'unga. New Zealand players Ratima, Sititi, Fineanganofo and Lakai also crossed the try line. The final score stood at 35 points for Wales and 28 for New Zealand.

Historical context and crowd

This win ended a losing sequence of 34 matches that began in 1953. Wales had previously won against New Zealand in 1905, 1935 and 1953 before this victory. The attendance at the Principality Stadium was 55,152 people for this fixture. Some bookmakers offered odds of 20-1 for a Welsh win before kickoff.

Team changes and leadership

Steve Tandy selected his squad to face the visitors in this Nations Championship game. Taine Basham started at number eight after replacing Aaron Wainwright who was injured. Beauden Barrett captained New Zealand for his 149th international appearance during the match. The home team made four changes to the side that beat Japan recently.