Wales beat New Zealand 35-28 at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 14 November in round 5 of the Nations Championship. It was their first win over the All Blacks since 1953, and it ended a run of 34 straight defeats. Wales scored five tries to four, and held New Zealand scoreless for the last 27 minutes with only 35% of the ball.
Pierre Brousset (France) refereed in front of a crowd of 55,152. Fly-half Sam Costelow kicked all five conversions. No penalty goals were kicked all night, and no cards were shown.
14-0 inside six minutes
Wales scored with their first attack. Scrum-half Tomos Williams went over in the first minute and Costelow converted. Hooker Dewi Lake added a second try in the fifth minute, and Costelow’s conversion made it 14-0.
Cortez Ratima pulled one back for the All Blacks in the ninth minute, with Richie Mo’unga converting. Tighthead prop Archie Griffin then scored Wales’ third try in the 23rd minute, and Costelow made it 21-7.
New Zealand level it before half-time
The All Blacks came back. No 8 Wallace Sititi scored in the 30th minute and Mo’unga converted to make it 21-14. Wing Fehi Fineanganofo then went over in first-half stoppage time, and Mo’unga’s third conversion made it 21-21 at the break.
Two tries in five minutes after the restart
Wales answered straight away. Centre Eddie James scored early in the second half, and Costelow converted for 28-21. Louis Rees-Zammit went over in the 48th minute, and another Costelow conversion made it 35-21.
Flanker Peter Lakai scored for New Zealand in the 52nd minute, and Mo’unga’s conversion in the 53rd made it 35-28. Nobody scored again.
27 minutes of defence
For the last 27 minutes New Zealand had the ball and Wales tackled. Wales made 346 tackles to New Zealand’s 136. Six Welsh players made 23 or more: Jenkins 38, Morgan 31, Botham 30, James 25, Lake 24, Llewellyn 23. Openside Jac Morgan won four turnovers, the most in the match.
New Zealand gave the ball away 15 times to Wales’ seven, and that is where the game was won. The All Blacks had more of everything else.
Why it ended 35-28
New Zealand had 64.7% possession, made 677 metres to 329, carried 260 times to 119, passed 289 times to 112, beat 36 defenders to 19 and made nine line breaks to five. They offloaded 20 times to Wales’ five.
Wales won because they took what they got. They scored five tries, Costelow converted every one, and they won 11 turnovers to seven. Both goal-kickers were perfect, so the difference was one converted try.
Scoring timeline
| Min | Event | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Try: Tomos Williams (WAL), Con: Sam Costelow | 7-0 |
| 5 | Try: Dewi Lake (WAL), Con: Costelow | 14-0 |
| 9 | Try: Cortez Ratima (NZL), Con: Richie Mo’unga | 14-7 |
| 23 | Try: Archie Griffin (WAL), Con: Costelow | 21-7 |
| 30 | Try: Wallace Sititi (NZL), Con: Mo’unga | 21-14 |
| 40+ | Try: Fehi Fineanganofo (NZL), Con: Mo’unga | 21-21 |
| HT | Half-time | 21-21 |
| 43 | Try: Eddie James (WAL), Con: Costelow | 28-21 |
| 48 | Try: Louis Rees-Zammit (WAL), Con: Costelow | 35-21 |
| 52 | Try: Peter Lakai (NZL), Con: Mo’unga | 35-28 |
Match stats
| Stat | Wales | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 35.3% | 64.7% |
| Metres made | 329 | 677 |
| Carries | 119 | 260 |
| Passes | 112 | 289 |
| Kicks from hand | 24 | 17 |
| Line breaks | 5 | 9 |
| Offloads | 5 | 20 |
| Defenders beaten | 19 | 36 |
| Tackles | 346 | 136 |
| Missed tackles | 36 | 19 |
| Turnovers won | 11 | 7 |
| Turnovers conceded | 7 | 15 |
| Penalties conceded | 11 | 9 |
| Scrum success | 60% | 0 (see note) |
| Lineout success | 78.6% | 80% |
| Cards | None | None |
The official sheet gives New Zealand’s scrum success as 0, with no breakdown of how many scrums each side fed, so we have not drawn anything from it.
Standout numbers
| Category | Wales | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Most tackles | Dafydd Jenkins, 38 | Quinn Tupaea, 14 |
| Most metres | Louis Rees-Zammit, 95 | Richie Mo’unga, 78 |
| Most carries | Taine Basham, 13 | Quinn Tupaea, 23 |
| Most defenders beaten | Blair Murray, 4 | Anton Lienert-Brown, 7 |
| Most turnovers won | Jac Morgan, 4 | Anton Segner, 2 |
| Most lineouts won | Dafydd Jenkins and Adam Beard, 4 | Anton Segner, 4 |
| Most kicks from hand | Tomos Williams, 11 | Cortez Ratima, 6 |
Discipline
Wales conceded 11 penalties and New Zealand 9. The PDF doesn’t split them by type. No player was carded.
| Team | Penalties conceded by player |
|---|---|
| Wales (11) | Basham 3, N Smith 2, Botham 2, Griffin 1, Beard 1, James 1, Plumtree 1 |
| New Zealand (9) | Newell 2, Bower 1, Aumua 1, S Barrett 1, Lord 1, Segner 1, Tupaea 1, Fineanganofo 1 |
Attack in numbers
New Zealand made more than twice as many carries, but Wales gained slightly more per carry: 2.8 metres to New Zealand’s 2.6. Rees-Zammit made 95 metres, the most on the pitch, and four of Wales’ five line breaks.
| Attack | Wales | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Line breaks | Rees-Zammit 4, James 1 | Ratima 2, Fineanganofo 2, Aumua 1, Lakai 1, Mo’unga 1, Lienert-Brown 1, B Barrett 1 |
| Offloads | Murray 2, T Williams 1, Rees-Zammit 1, G Thomas 1 | Tupaea 4, Moorby 3, Bower 2, Sititi 2, Ratima 2, Mo’unga 2, B Barrett 2, Lienert-Brown 1, Fineanganofo 1, Tosi 1 |
| Most passes | T Williams 61, Costelow 15, Morgan-Williams 10 | Ratima 102, Preston 54, B Barrett 26 |
| Defenders beaten (top five) | Murray 4, Basham 3, Llewellyn 2, Botham 2, Lake 2 | Lienert-Brown 7, Lakai 6, Sititi 4, Mo’unga 4, Moorby 2 |
| Best metres per carry (4+ carries) | Rees-Zammit 9.5, Murray 8.8, Basham 3.5 | B Barrett 4.7, Moorby 4.2, Lakai 3.8 |
Ratima and replacement Kyle Preston made 156 of New Zealand’s 289 passes (54%). Tomos Williams made 61 of Wales’ 112 (54%).
Defence and breakdown
Wales made 346 tackles and missed 36, a success rate of 91%. New Zealand made 136 and missed 19, a rate of 88%.
| Defence | Wales | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Top tacklers | Jenkins 38, Morgan 31, Botham 30, James 25, Lake 24, Llewellyn 23 | Tupaea 14, S Barrett 13, Lakai 13, Sititi 13, Newell 12 |
| Turnovers won (11 / 7) | Morgan 4, James 2, Plumtree 2, Llewellyn 1, Rees-Zammit 1, Murray 1 | Segner 2, S Barrett 1, Lakai 1, Sititi 1, Moorby 1, Lienert-Brown 1 |
Set piece and kicking
| Set piece and kicking | Wales | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Scrum success | 60% | 0 (see note above) |
| Lineout success | 78.6% | 80% |
| Lineouts won by player | Jenkins 4, Beard 4, Botham 1, Basham 1 | Segner 4, Lord 2, Ratima 1 |
| Kicks from hand (top five) | T Williams 11, Murray 4, Costelow 3, Rees-Zammit 3, Morgan-Williams 2 | Ratima 6, Mo’unga 5, B Barrett 3, Moorby 1, Segner 1 |
| Goal kicking | Costelow 5 from 5 conversions; no penalty goals | Mo’unga 4 from 4 conversions; no penalty goals |
Wales kicked from hand 24 times to New Zealand’s 17, and Tomos Williams alone kicked 11.
Wales player stats
| Player | Min | Pts | Carries | Metres | Passes | Offloads | Line breaks | Tackles | Turnovers won | Lineouts won | Pens conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blair Murray | 80 | 0 | 8 | 70 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Rees-Zammit | 80 | 5 | 10 | 95 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie James | 80 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Max Llewellyn | 80 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Hamer-Webb | 54 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Costelow | 64 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tomos Williams | 64 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 61 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nicky Smith | 54 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dewi Lake | 59 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Archie Griffin | 54 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dafydd Jenkins | 80 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Adam Beard | 64 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| James Botham | 80 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jac Morgan | 80 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Taine Basham | 54 | 0 | 13 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Ryan Elias | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gareth Thomas | 26 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dillon Lewis | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Carter | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taine Plumtree | 26 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Reuben Morgan-Williams | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Edwards | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louie Hennessey | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New Zealand player stats
| Player | Min | Pts | Carries | Metres | Passes | Offloads | Line breaks | Tackles | Turnovers won | Lineouts won | Pens conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beauden Barrett | 80 | 0 | 16 | 75 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fehi Fineanganofo | 67 | 5 | 10 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Quinn Tupaea | 80 | 0 | 23 | 34 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Anton Lienert-Brown | 80 | 0 | 15 | 38 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Moorby | 80 | 0 | 12 | 50 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Richie Mo’unga | 80 | 8 | 22 | 78 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cortez Ratima | 64 | 5 | 10 | 32 | 102 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| George Bower | 49 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Asafo Aumua | 64 | 0 | 20 | 55 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Fletcher Newell | 49 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Scott Barrett | 80 | 0 | 12 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Josh Lord | 64 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Anton Segner | 80 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Peter Lakai | 80 | 5 | 20 | 75 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wallace Sititi | 64 | 5 | 19 | 55 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| George Bell | 16 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Numia | 31 | 0 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pasilio Tosi | 31 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Hannah | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan Blackadder | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leicester Fainga’anuku | 16 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Preston | 16 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rieko Ioane | 13 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The teams
Wales: Blair Murray; Louis Rees-Zammit, Eddie James, Max Llewellyn, Gabriel Hamer-Webb; Sam Costelow, Tomos Williams; Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin, Dafydd Jenkins, Adam Beard, James Botham, Jac Morgan, Taine Basham. Replacements: Ryan Elias, Gareth Thomas, Dillon Lewis, Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Dan Edwards, Louie Hennessey.
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett; Fehi Fineanganofo, Quinn Tupaea, Anton Lienert-Brown, Josh Moorby; Richie Mo’unga, Cortez Ratima; George Bower, Asafo Aumua, Fletcher Newell, Scott Barrett, Josh Lord, Anton Segner, Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi. Replacements: George Bell, Xavier Numia, Pasilio Tosi, Jamie Hannah, Ethan Blackadder, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Kyle Preston, Rieko Ioane.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France) · Attendance: 55,152
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