Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has called Wales‘ second-half defence against the All Blacks “the most heroic” he has seen in a Welsh shirt, after a 35-28 win that ended a 73-year wait.
Warburton was speaking on ITV’s post-match coverage at the Principality Stadium, alongside Dan Biggar and former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick.
Wales made 346 tackles and kept New Zealand scoreless for the last 27 minutes. Dafydd Jenkins made 38 tackles and Jac Morgan 31.
READ MORE: Wales Player Ratings vs All Blacks: 9.5 For Tomos Williams And Eddie James
‘The most heroic’
“Yes, New Zealand made changes, yes, New Zealand would be disappointed, but some of that defensive effort in the second half was the most heroic I’ve seen in a Welsh shirt of any team that I’ve seen,” Warburton said.
“It was phenomenal… Proud to be Welsh on a day like today and those players were magnificent.”
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.
‘Nobody gave Wales a chance’
“Nobody gave Wales a chance pre-match, nobody did. I didn’t think they were going to beat New Zealand,” Warburton continued.
“They’ve gone from plummeting from being Grand Slam winners six, seven years ago, whenever it was, all the way down to 12th in the rankings, a record losing streak of any tier one nation.
“…they’ve slowly just crawled their way back out and had one of the greatest wins of all time in Welsh history.”
Wales won their last Grand Slam in 2019. Before Saturday, they had not beaten New Zealand since a 13-8 win at Cardiff Arms Park in 1953.
Tandy’s message
Warburton credited head coach Steve Tandy with the mindset behind the stand.
“One thing I think Steve Tandy has brought to this team, and he said this when he came in on day one… never ever give up at any cost, you never throw in the towel, ever,” he said.
He said “it felt inevitable that New Zealand were going to score”, and that Wales holding firm was “what being Welsh is all about”.
“I hope this is a catalyst for this team for better things to come,” he added.
Wales host Australia at the Principality Stadium next Saturday.
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