Wales stuns All Blacks 35-28 for the first time in 73 years

New Zealand's Richie Mo'unga, left, is tackled by Wales' Max Llewellyn during the Nations Championship rugby match between Wales and New Zealand in Cardiff, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.

New Zealand's Richie Mo'unga, left, is tackled by Wales' Max Llewellyn during the Nations Championship rugby match between Wales and New Zealand in Cardiff, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)


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CARDIFF, Wales — Wales shocked New Zealand 35-28 for the first time in 73 years in a pulsating Nations Championship rugby match on Saturday.

Wales set the tone with a second-minute try by Tomos Williams and never trailed, but had to survive waves of All Black attacks for the last, tense 27 minutes to preserve a seven-point lead.

It is perhaps the biggest upset in test rugby since Japan defeated South Africa in the 2015 World Cup.

The Welsh had lost 34 straight matches to the All Blacks after their last win in 1953. They had conceded 50 points to the All Blacks on their last three visits.

Wales has fallen on hard times of late. It was last again in the Six Nations and was second-to-last in the northern hemisphere pool of the Nations Championship, and given no hope against New Zealand so only 55,000 people attended, the lowest crowd for a Wales-New Zealand match since the national stadium opened in 1999.

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See AP's full rugby coverage here

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