Wales captain Dewi Lake has said attacking the All Blacks was “the only way to play” them, after Wales won 35-28 in Cardiff to end a 73-year wait.
Lake was speaking after Saturday’s Test, in a clip shown on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown. On the same show, Kevin Putt credited head coach Steve Tandy with lifting a group “at the low ebb”, and James Parsons called Louis Rees-Zammit world-class.
Wales led 14-0 after five minutes. Tomos Williams scored in the first minute and Lake added the second (full match report).
So is this the start of a Welsh revival, or a one-off?
Lake says Wales planned to ‘fire a shot’ from the first minute
Lake said the plan was set early in the week.
“We said all week we were going to fire a shot,” he said. “I think it’s the only way to play the All Blacks sometimes.”
He compared it with the last meeting. “We probably flipped it back to 12 months ago where in the first half we did attack them, second half we didn’t, and that’s ultimately where we fell,” Lake said.
This time Wales kept going. They scored twice more within five minutes of the restart and led 35-21 after 48 minutes. They then defended for the last 27 minutes with 35% of the ball, making 346 tackles in all (the tackle count in full).
Putt says Tandy reached a group ‘at the low ebb’
Putt, a former Springboks scrum-half, gave the head coach most of the credit. He said Tandy “hits on the nerves” of his players.
His description of the squad Tandy inherited was blunt.
“Especially without being rude, a group of players that haven’t achieved a lot and are at the low ebb in their rugby careers,” Putt said. “That will do a lot for the nation’s game. They’ll get more people in.”
Wales had lost 34 Tests in a row to New Zealand before Saturday.
The Kiwis in red who helped beat New Zealand
Putt also pointed to the New Zealand accents in the Welsh squad.
“They’ve got a couple of Kiwis come in, we saw a fullback from Taranaki, you’ve got Taine Plumtree on the side,” he said. “So there’s a little bit of flavour in here. They’ll take anyone who’s passionate.”
Putt did not name the full-back. Wales started Blair Murray at 15.
Plumtree, the son of John Plumtree, came off the bench in the second half. He won two turnovers as Wales held out.
Parsons: Rees-Zammit has ‘fully convinced me’
Rees-Zammit made 95 metres, the most on the pitch, and four of Wales’ five line breaks. Parsons said it was how he used them that mattered.
“He’s fully convinced me as a world-class player because he didn’t overplay his hand,” Parsons said. “It would have been easy for him to be the guy… trying to overplay everything, but he actually let himself, you know, tease the defence and create opportunities for others.”
Wales play Australia in Cardiff next weekend in the last round of the Nations Championship.
Kevin Putt, Aaron Cruden and James Parsons were speaking on The Breakdown, Sky Sport NZ, on 15 November 2026. Watch the full episode.
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