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Thirty-four defeats later, Lake reveals how Wales changed the ending

With Wales level at half-time, their captain recalled the pain of last year's collapse. Two tries and a prolonged defensive stand supplied a different ending.

Written 7 min read · 117 sources

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What changed since our last report

5 hours later

Then

Wales end 73-year All Blacks wait with five tries and a final stand

Now

With Wales level at half-time, their captain recalled the pain of last year's collapse. Two tries and a prolonged defensive stand supplied a different ending.

Thirty-four straight defeats were the history Wales carried into Cardiff. At half-time, however, captain Dewi Lake asked his teammates to confront a more immediate memory: how a competitive first half against New Zealand a year earlier had unravelled into a 52–26 defeat. With the score level at 21–21, the danger was familiar. This time, Wales discussed it, scored twice after the interval and defended the lead all the way home.⁠1⁠63

We reported on 14 November 2026 that Wales had beaten the All Blacks 35–28 at the Principality Stadium, ending the losing sequence that followed their 1953 victory. Lake's post-match explanation now supplies something the score cannot: how Wales recognised a moment that had so often preceded defeat and responded differently. New Zealand Rugby's completed match report also confirms the result and scoring account.⁠63⁠66

Wales had already led 14–0 and 21–7 before New Zealand drew level. Those advantages demonstrated that Wales could hurt the visitors; losing them demonstrated why another fast start would not be enough. Lake kept his complete dressing-room address private, but explained the memory he wanted the team to face.⁠63

But it was more or less a flashback to 12 months ago when we were in a similar position at half-time.

Dewi Lake 63

“We were not quite in the lead or drawing, but there or thereabouts and it was just a reminder of that feeling for us,” he added. Head coach Steve Tandy praised the players for talking through what the next 40 minutes would demand, and Lake for leading that discussion. The full speech remains the dressing room's business; the response was public.⁠63

Eddie James scored early in the second half, then Louis Rees-Zammit crossed, both from Tomos Williams passes. Sam Costelow converted both to make it 35–21. When Peter Lakai's converted try cut the margin to seven, Wales were left protecting a one-score advantage for more than a quarter of the match.⁠1⁠66

Lake insisted the belief behind that performance had been genuine. Wales had been priced at 20–1 against the world's second-ranked side, which would have gone top with victory. Those were bookmaker odds, not a measurement of Welsh conviction. “It's not for us. We work hard, we have tough conversations, not only players, but coaches and staff,” he said, explaining why talk of beating New Zealand had never been merely ceremonial within the group.⁠63

Five tries, then the harder work

This was not simply a defensive ambush. Wales scored five tries against New Zealand for the first time. Williams, Lake and Archie Griffin supplied the first-half scores, before James and Rees-Zammit struck after the break. Costelow converted all five. Cortez Ratima, Wallace Sititi, Fehi Fineanganofo and Lakai scored New Zealand's four tries, with Richie Mo'unga converting each.⁠1⁠66

Even the first-half statistics resist a simple account of New Zealand controlling everything. Wales gained 236 metres to the visitors' 222. They also made 95 tackles against 75, while New Zealand led the ruck count 61–46. Wales had an attacking threat as well as an increasing defensive burden.⁠66

The completed New Zealand Rugby report records Wales making 332 tackles to New Zealand's 122—about 2.7 times as many—with the visitors holding 65% possession. BBC Sport's later Lake follow-up gives Wales 346 tackles, including 38 by lock Dafydd Jenkins. The team totals differ by 14, and their counting definitions have not been explained. They should not be combined into one supposedly definitive tally. The imbalance in workload is clear even where the exact count is not.⁠66⁠63

Three times New Zealand reached the Welsh line without securing a try because defenders held the ball up. Replacement Taine Plumtree also won two important turnovers. These were not merely expressions of effort: they denied points at precisely the places where New Zealand expected to find them. Tandy praised the bravery and physicality behind a response prepared with defensive coaches Peter Murchie and Dan Lydiate.⁠63

Our earlier account named Reuben Morgan-Williams among those involved in the third hold-up. BBC's later account instead identifies Dan Edwards among the defenders involved across the three stops, alongside Gareth Thomas, James Botham and Jac Morgan. The earlier identification should not be treated as settled.⁠63⁠65

By the closing stages Lake had been replaced, leaving his teammates to finish the work while he endured it from the sidelines. “I think I stopped watching with a minute and 20 seconds left and just waited for the whistle, which I have done before, but this one was different,” he said. The crowd of 55,152 was the lowest reported for this fixture at the stadium. It was still loud enough to accompany a moment generations of Welsh internationals had never experienced.⁠63

New Zealand's explanation went beyond selection

Dave Rennie had made eight starting changes from the Scotland match, but his assessment was more searching than a defence of rotation. He credited Wales with quick ball, space on the edges and clinical finishing. He counted nine first-half turnovers, four from offloads—his assessment of the errors—and said New Zealand became one-dimensional under pressure.⁠1⁠106

Sometimes, Rennie said, his players moved away from numerical advantages; elsewhere they carried into traffic when they needed to move the ball. He defended the selection but promised a review extending to preparation, selection and the timing of substitutions, rather than assigning responsibility solely to execution. “Wales were passionate and every time they kept us out, I reckon they grew and became harder to break down,” he said.⁠106

Captain Beauden Barrett felt one successful finish could have levelled the match and changed its direction. That captures New Zealand's frustration, not a guaranteed seven points from any particular held-up attack: the ball still needed grounding and the try converting. Wales's achievement was to keep making that distinction matter.⁠106

The final score is now supported by completed governing-body reporting, rather than just contemporary match reports. An earlier AP listing on 14 November gave 35–21; the subsequent New Zealand Rugby report confirms 35–28. The cause of AP's earlier figure remains unexplained, as does the separate Australian match-centre listing described in our previous report as showing 39–34. Those earlier listings are not alternative established results.⁠105⁠66⁠93

History settled, final placing still open

The historical question left open in our first report can also be narrowed. Cardiff Rugby Online Museum's preserved programme entry dates Wales's previous victory—13–8—to Saturday, 19 December 1953. BBC's anniversary account agrees. The Welsh Rugby Union's 2003 retrospective gives the same score but prints “9/12/1953”, leaving an inconsistency in the date record rather than in who won. Bleddyn Williams captained Wales.⁠111⁠115⁠110⁠112

That team, too, had to respond after losing an advantage. Sid Judd's converted try put Wales ahead before New Zealand overtook them. Gwyn Rowlands kicked the equalising penalty, then Clem Thomas cross-kicked for Ken Jones to win the race to score; Rowlands converted. The useful parallel is not tactical. Both victories required Wales to find another answer after the first lead had gone.⁠110

The championship reward is more limited than the historical achievement. In New Zealand Rugby's 14 November post-match calculation, Wales could reach a maximum of 20 competition points by beating Australia with a bonus point. France already had 21. Wales therefore cannot top the northern section or reach the Grand Final, although they remained mathematically in contention for second. The two section runners-up meet on Finals Weekend.⁠106

New Zealand collected two bonus points—one for four tries, another for losing by seven—and reached 22, one ahead of South Africa in that post-match snapshot. A bonus-point win against England guarantees a Grand Final place. A four-point win takes them to 26; if South Africa earn five against Ireland, both would have 26 points and five wins, bringing points difference into play. South Africa then led that comparison by 72.⁠106

A draw can suffice if South Africa also draw or lose. Even defeat can leave New Zealand first if they collect at least as many competition points as South Africa, or one fewer and win the tiebreak. That supersedes the simpler suggestion that they must beat England merely to remain in contention. Final standings and Wales's eventual placing are still unresolved.⁠106

Wales host Australia at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, 21 November, their final group match. Finals Weekend runs from 27–29 November at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham; second plays second on 28 November and the section winners meet on 29 November. Tandy wants his players to savour this victory, then return ready for a different test. They have changed the ending of one familiar story. Australia will test what carries over.⁠61⁠63

Timeline

Day 7 · 2 reports

Story timeline

  1. First to report

  2. 2 days later

  3. We aired · Update 1

    Wales end 73-year All Blacks wait with five tries and a final stand

  4. We aired · Update 2You are here

    Thirty-four defeats later, Lake reveals how Wales changed the ending

Sources52

Of the sources cited here, All Blacks published first, 7 days before this report aired. 34 more outlets followed.
  1. All Blacks
  2. BBC Wales
  3. Wales Online
  4. BBC Sport
  5. All Things Rugby | Rugby Union
  6. sixnationsrugby.com
  7. RUCK
  8. KPRC
  9. +27 more outlets
  10. HeyDay News

6 older pieces read for background.15 outlets with no date:wru.walesapnews.comReutersrugby365.comAFP.comAutumn Internationals

Continuing story · report 2 of 2

Every source, by outlet

117 sources from 52 outlets· Most cited first

As aired
  1. Dewi Lake reminded Wales of a previous collapse before they broke New Zealand's winning streak. On November 14, we reported Wales's 35–28 victory in Cardiff, ending 34 straight defeats against the All Blacks.
  2. Now the captain has explained how Wales confronted that memory with the game level at half-time. They scored twice after the break, then protected a seven-point lead. What changed when Wales faced the same danger again?
  3. Wales won in front of 55,152 people at the Principality Stadium. That was the lowest reported attendance for this fixture at the ground. They'd been priced at twenty to one against the world's second-ranked team.
  4. Those were bookmaker odds. New Zealand would have moved to number one with a victory. Lake said Welsh belief was genuine, built through hard work and difficult conversations involving the players, coaches and staff.
  5. Wales finished with five tries to New Zealand's four, and every try was converted. The final score was 35–28, with the teams level at 21–21 at half-time. Wales had never scored five tries against New Zealand before.
  6. New Zealand had already erased Welsh leads of fourteen nil and twenty-one seven. A year earlier, a competitive first half had given way to a 52–26 New Zealand win. Lake brought that feeling back into the dressing room.
  7. Lake described his reminder as a flashback to twelve months earlier. He wanted his teammates to remember how that defeat felt. He kept the full address private, but explained the memory he was asking them to confront.
  8. Steve Tandy praised the players for talking through what the next forty minutes would demand. The Wales head coach said their discussion and Lake's leadership stood out. He credited the work the players and staff had put in over about fifteen months.
  9. Tandy said he felt pride in the players and staff, and in what the result meant to supporters. His belief in the group survived a history that had repeatedly pointed towards another New Zealand victory.
  10. Tomos Williams had scored Wales's opening try after Louis Rees-Zammit kicked over the defence. Lake followed from close range, and Archie Griffin added their third. Cortez Ratima, Wallace Sititi and Fehi Fineanganofo scored New Zealand's first-half tries. Richie Mo'unga converted all three to bring them level.
  11. Eddie James and Rees-Zammit scored early in the second half, both from Williams passes. Sam Costelow converted both, completing five successful conversions. Wales led 35–21 before Peter Lakai's converted try cut their advantage to seven.
  12. Mo'unga converted all four New Zealand tries. Lakai's score left Wales defending a one-score advantage for more than a quarter of the match. Another converted try could have drawn New Zealand level. Both teams conceded ten penalties, and nobody received a yellow or red card.
  13. Subscribe to this channel as we follow Wales into the Australia match and the championship's remaining qualification decisions.
  14. Wales made 332 tackles against New Zealand's 122 in one set of match figures. That's about 2.7 times as many. New Zealand had 65 percent possession, but couldn't turn enough of that ball into points.
  15. Wales had also carried an attacking threat. Before half-time, they gained 236 metres to New Zealand's 222. They made 95 tackles against 75, while New Zealand led the ruck count, 61 to 46. Wales combined attacking gains with a growing defensive burden.
  16. Wales's tackle totals range from 332 to 346, a difference of fourteen. Dafydd Jenkins is credited with 38 in the higher total. The counting methods haven't been explained, so the figures can't be combined into one definitive tally.
  17. Wales held New Zealand up over the line three times. Crossing the line alone couldn't produce a try when defenders stopped the ball being grounded. Gareth Thomas, James Botham, Jac Morgan and Dan Edwards were involved in those stops. Replacement Taine Plumtree also won two important turnovers.
  18. Tandy praised the players' bravery and physicality as New Zealand kept attacking. Defensive coaches Peter Murchie and Dan Lydiate had helped prepare that response. The defenders repeatedly kept New Zealand from scoring even after the visitors reached the Welsh line.
  19. Lake had been replaced by then. His teammates were still making the tackles, but their captain could barely watch. He described the stadium noise fading into the background as he waited for the final whistle.
  20. Lake said he stopped watching with a minute and twenty seconds left. He'd waited for a whistle like that before, but this felt different. Afterwards, he described the feeling of celebrating with the teammates and coaches he worked with every day.
  21. New Zealand coach Dave Rennie accepted that Wales created quick ball, found space on the edges and finished their chances. His explanation went beyond the eight starting changes he'd made after the Scotland match.
  22. Rennie counted nine first-half turnovers, including four from offloads. That was his assessment of the errors. He said New Zealand's decisions and passing needed to improve, and that the attack became one-dimensional under pressure.
  23. He described his players moving away from numerical advantages, then carrying into traffic when they should have moved the ball. Rennie defended his selection, but said the review would include coaching preparation, selection and the timing of substitutions, alongside the players' execution.
  24. Rennie said Wales became harder to break down each time they kept New Zealand out. He accepted they were the better side and demanded more from his own team against England at Twickenham the following week.
  25. New Zealand captain Beauden Barrett felt one successful finish could have levelled the game and changed its direction. That was his view of the opportunities they missed. Each held-up attack still needed a grounding, followed by a successful conversion, to produce seven points.
  26. Barrett described the frustration of building pressure without scoring. He also said the crowd's backing made Wales feel as though they had sixteen or seventeen players. The extra players were figurative. The repeated defensive stops were real.
  27. Wales's previous victory came under captain Bleddyn Williams. It was 13–8 in Cardiff on December 19, 1953. The team also had to recover after losing an early advantage.
  28. That Welsh side included five backs from the Cardiff club team, which had already beaten the touring All Blacks eight to three. Sid Judd scored first for Wales, and Gwyn Rowlands converted.
  29. Bill Clark's try and Ron Jarden's conversion and penalty put New Zealand ahead. Welsh centre Gareth Griffiths dislocated his shoulder but returned to the match. Rowlands then kicked the equalising penalty, setting up the move that decided the game.
  30. Clem Thomas cross-kicked for Ken Jones, who beat Jarden and Bob Scott in the race to score. Rowlands converted. Wales won 13–8, before New Zealand began the run of 34 victories that finally ended in this match.
  31. Lake's team recognised a different memory, last year's collapse, and talked about how to avoid repeating it. Their immediate response was two tries. Their sustained response was to defend the lead. The remaining competition reward is a better final placing.
  32. Wales can reach a maximum of twenty competition points by beating Australia with a bonus point. France already had twenty-one in the post-match standings. Wales therefore can't finish first in the northern section or reach the Grand Final.
  33. Wales remained mathematically in contention for second. The northern runner-up faces the southern runner-up on Finals Weekend. Their eventual placing still depends on the remaining results. The historic win hasn't settled where they'll finish.
  34. New Zealand took two bonus points from the defeat and reached twenty-two competition points, one ahead of South Africa on twenty-one. Their four tries earned one bonus point. Losing by seven earned the other. These were the post-match standings.
  35. A bonus-point win against England guarantees New Zealand a Grand Final place. A four-point win would take them to twenty-six. If South Africa earned five against Ireland, both would have twenty-six points and five wins, bringing points difference into play.
  36. South Africa led that points-difference comparison by seventy-two. A New Zealand draw can suffice if South Africa also draw or lose. Even defeat can be enough, depending on the competition points each team collects.
  37. New Zealand can lose and still qualify if they take at least as many competition points as South Africa. Taking one fewer can also suffice if they win the tiebreak. Their next result alone won't necessarily decide their place.
  38. Wales host Australia at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, November 21, their final group match. Tandy wants the players to enjoy a victory generations of Welsh internationals never experienced, then return ready to work against a different opponent.
  39. Finals Weekend runs from November 27 to 29 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. All twelve teams play for their final placings. Second plays second on November 28, and the two section winners meet in the Grand Final on November 29.

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