Wales inflict biggest ranking-points upset in major-nation history with 35-28 win over All Blacks

Wales produced the biggest ranking-points upset in major-nation rugby history on Saturday, defeating New Zealand 35-28 in Cardiff to leapfrog the ‘Miracle of Brighton’ as the sport’s most statistically improbable result.

Before kick-off, Wales sat 10th in the World Rankings while the All Blacks occupied second place — a gap of eight positions. In raw ranking points, however, the gulf was even more striking: 15.89 points separated the two sides, edging past the 12.97-point differential that existed between Japan and South Africa when Eddie Jones’ side stunned the Springboks at Rugby World Cup 2015.

That Japan result, widely known as the ‘Miracle of Brighton’, had long been the benchmark for giant-killing in international rugby. Wales’ win now sits above it by every metric when the comparison is restricted to major rugby nations.

The caveat is that larger ranking-point deficits have been overcome in matches involving World Cup-qualifying nations. In the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship, Belgium — ranked 16 places and 18.20 points below Portugal — beat the 2023 World Cup participants 10-6. A year earlier, Algeria defeated Zimbabwe 20-12 in the Africa Nations Cup despite sitting 45 places and 16.18 points lower in the standings.

Further back, Tahiti overcame a 43-place, 15.32-point deficit to beat the Cook Islands 13-9 during 2019 World Cup qualifying in Rarotonga in August 2017. And in 2016, Brazil opened their Americas Rugby Championship campaign with a 24-23 win over the United States, who had entered the match ranked 26 places and 20.55 points above Os Tupis.

None of those results, though, involved two sides from the sport’s traditional powerhouses. Measured against that standard, Wales’ victory in Cardiff stands alone — a result that will be referenced alongside Brighton for as long as the sport is played.