Wales end 71-year wait to stun All Blacks 35-28 in Cardiff as Barrett makes unwanted history

Wales ended 71 years of All Blacks dominance with a 35-28 victory at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on November 14, 2026, stunning a New Zealand side that had been priced as short as 1/200 to win. The result ended a run of 34 consecutive defeats to the All Blacks dating back to 1953, and arrived after Wales had managed just five wins in 31 Tests since the 2023 Rugby World Cup — all against sides outside the world’s top ten.

Beauden Barrett and his All Blacks teammates were left to contemplate a defeat that eluded even the greatest Welsh sides in history. Sir Gareth Edwards, Barry John, JPR Williams, Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and Shane Williams all wore the red jersey without ever beating New Zealand. Wales were priced at 16/1 before kick-off.

The players who delivered the result will now be spoken of in the same breath as those legends. Dafydd Jenkins was immense in the loose, completing 38 tackles, while flanker Jac Morgan contributed 31 tackles and four turnovers. Eddie James was another standout in a performance that defied every expectation the sport had placed on this Welsh generation.

Captain Dewi Lake led the side with particular resonance. The hooker skippered Wales Under-20s to an 8-7 victory over New Zealand at the 2019 World Rugby Under-20 Championships in Rosario, Argentina — a result that now reads as a quiet omen. That day, Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler’s kick-and-chase try gave Wales a lead they held from the 17th to the 70th minute before Cai Evans struck a decisive late penalty to seal fifth place.

The lineage of Welsh upsets over the All Blacks is thin but vivid. In November 1953, flanker and schoolteacher Sid Judd scored for Cardiff in an 8-3 win over New Zealand, then backed it up with a try three weeks later as Wales won 13-8 — the last time Wales had beaten the All Blacks before Saturday. Judd had only been called into the Test squad as an injury replacement.

There was a further subplot in the shape of Taine Plumtree, a lock born in Swansea in 2000 whose father John served as an All Blacks assistant coach. Plumtree came off the bench for New Zealand, making 12 tackles and claiming two turnovers, but could not prevent the historic defeat.

Wales’s Under-20 record against New Zealand adds further context to the senior side’s achievement. In 2012, a Welsh Under-20 side ended New Zealand’s 21-match winning streak at the tournament in South Africa with a 9-6 win — just 12 months after suffering a 92-0 humiliation at the same level. The players who came through those junior battles have now, as seniors, completed something Welsh rugby had waited over seven decades to see.