New Zealand lost 35-28 to Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 14 November in round 5 of the Nations Championship. It was the All Blacks’ first defeat to Wales since 1953 and it ended a run of 34 straight wins over them. The All Blacks scored four tries to Wales’ five and drew level at 21-21 at half-time, but conceded two tries in the first eight minutes of the second half.
How New Zealand lost it
The All Blacks were 14-0 down after six minutes. Scrum-half Tomos Williams scored in the first minute and hooker Dewi Lake added a second try in the fifth.
Cortez Ratima got New Zealand going in the ninth minute. Archie Griffin then went over for Wales, Wallace Sititi replied in the 30th minute and Fehi Fineanganofo scored in first-half stoppage time. Richie Mo’unga converted both, which made it 21-21 at the break.
The second half started badly. Eddie James scored straight after the break and Louis Rees-Zammit added another in the 48th minute, which put Wales 35-21 up. Peter Lakai cut the gap to seven in the 52nd minute, and that was the last score of the match. For the final 27 minutes, New Zealand had the ball and could not find a way through.
The numbers show how one-sided the territory was. New Zealand had 64.7% possession, 260 carries to 119, 677 metres to 329, nine line breaks to five and 20 offloads to five. Wales made 346 tackles to New Zealand’s 136. The stat that decided it was turnovers: New Zealand gave the ball away 15 times to Wales’ seven.
New Zealand player ratings
15 Beauden Barrett – 6.5
Made 75 metres from 16 carries, a line break, two offloads and 26 passes. He was busy, but he couldn’t unlock a Welsh defence that was making tackle after tackle.
14 Fehi Fineanganofo – 5
Scored the try that made it 21-21 in first-half stoppage time and made two line breaks. Outside that, he was quiet: 36 metres from 10 carries and a penalty conceded. Rieko Ioane replaced him at 67 minutes.
13 Quinn Tupaea – 7
Carried 23 times, more than anyone else on the pitch, made four offloads and New Zealand’s highest tackle count with 14. He kept turning up, even if 34 metres from all those carries shows how hard Wales made him work.
12 Anton Lienert-Brown – 6.5
Beat seven defenders, the most in the match, and added a line break, a turnover and nine tackles.
11 Josh Moorby – 6.5
Made 50 metres from 12 carries, three offloads and won a turnover. A solid 80 minutes.
10 Richie Mo’unga – 5
Kicked all four conversions and made 78 metres, the most of any All Black. But New Zealand had almost two-thirds of the ball and didn’t score in the last 27 minutes. The fly-half runs the attack, so that falls on him.
9 Cortez Ratima – 5.5
Scored New Zealand’s first try in the ninth minute and made two line breaks. But his 102 passes and six kicks didn’t find a way through when it mattered. Kyle Preston replaced him at 64 minutes with his side seven points down.
1 George Bower – 6
Made eight tackles and two offloads before going off at 49 minutes.
2 Asafo Aumua – 6.5
Carried 20 times for 55 metres and made a line break and 10 tackles. He was New Zealand’s most dangerous forward with the ball until he went off at 64 minutes.
3 Fletcher Newell – 6
Made 12 tackles but conceded two penalties. Pasilio Tosi replaced him at 49 minutes.
4 Scott Barrett – 6.5
Made 13 tackles and 12 carries, and won a turnover in 80 minutes.
5 Josh Lord – 6.5
Won two lineouts and made eight tackles before going off at 64 minutes.
6 Anton Segner – 7.5
Won four lineouts and two turnovers, the most of any All Black on both counts, and made 12 tackles. He gave New Zealand set-piece ball and won it back.
7 Peter Lakai – 7.5
Scored the last try of the match in the 52nd minute. He made 75 metres from 20 carries, beat six defenders and made 13 tackles. One of the few All Blacks who kept breaking the line.
8 Wallace Sititi – 8
New Zealand’s best player. He scored in the 30th minute and carried 19 times for 55 metres, beating four defenders, with two offloads, 13 tackles and a turnover. He was still making an impact when he went off at 64 minutes.
Replacements
16 George Bell – 6.5 – Made 13 metres from six carries and four tackles in 16 minutes.
17 Xavier Numia – 7 – Carried 16 times in 31 minutes, the most of any replacement on either side.
18 Pasilio Tosi – 6 – Made 12 carries, an offload and three tackles in 31 minutes.
19 Jamie Hannah – N/A – Only five minutes on the pitch before Ethan Blackadder replaced him.
20 Ethan Blackadder – N/A – 11 minutes, three carries and two tackles. Too little time to rate.
21 Leicester Fainga’anuku – 6.5 – Made 30 metres from 10 carries in 16 minutes, the most metres of any New Zealand replacement.
22 Kyle Preston – 6 – Made 54 passes in 16 minutes to keep the tempo high, but no score came.
23 Rieko Ioane – 5.5 – Made three carries for six metres in 13 minutes, at a time when New Zealand needed something from the backs.
Wales v New Zealand: key numbers
| Stat | New Zealand | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 64.7% | 35.3% |
| Metres made | 677 | 329 |
| Carries | 260 | 119 |
| Line breaks | 9 | 5 |
| Offloads | 20 | 5 |
| Defenders beaten | 36 | 19 |
| Tackles made | 136 | 346 |
| Turnovers conceded | 15 | 7 |
| Penalties conceded | 9 | 11 |
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