All Blacks full-back Beauden Barrett has said the Cardiff crowd made it feel like Wales were “playing with 16 or 17” as they beat New Zealand 35-28 for their first win over the All Blacks since 1953.
Barrett was speaking alongside head coach Dave Rennie at the All Blacks’ post-match press conference on Saturday. The official attendance at the Principality Stadium was 55,152.
Wales led 35-21 after 48 minutes. The All Blacks scored to cut the gap to seven, then did not score again.
‘Playing with 16 or 17’
Barrett said the All Blacks had given Wales “opportunities for the crowd to come into the game”, and that they were “well aware of that when we come here”.
Then he went further: “Feels like you’re playing with 16 or 17.”
Wales flanker James Botham, who made 30 tackles, said the supporters had been part of the win.
“It’s come from belief. Like obviously we’ve got the crowd behind us and the energy and the noise was unbelievable,” Botham told ITV.
“I just want to thank everyone for the energy… because we wouldn’t have got that result without the crowd.”
‘A brick wall’
Asked how much the defeat hurt, Barrett called it a “tough one to take”.
“Particularly when we were building a lot of pressure and we just couldn’t convert that into points,” he said.
He said New Zealand had felt that one score would have levelled the game and changed it. Instead, he said, it “felt like a brick wall at times, so you have to give them credit”.
New Zealand had 65 per cent of the ball and made nine line breaks to Wales’ five, but did not score after the 53rd minute. Wales made 346 tackles to New Zealand’s 136, and Dafydd Jenkins made 38 of them.
Wales host Australia in Cardiff next Saturday, while New Zealand go to Twickenham.
READ MORE: All Blacks Player Ratings vs Wales: An 8 For Wallace Sititi In Cardiff Defeat
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