Wales claim historic victory against All Blacks for first time since 1953

Wales edged New Zealand 35-28 in the Nations Championship in Cardiff on Saturday to claim their first victory over the All Blacks since 1953.

Scrum-half Tomos Williams scored one of five Welsh tries in a superb individual performance as the home side ended a 34-match losing run against the three-time Rugby World Cup winners.

Wales's heroic defence held out the visitors in the final 25 minutes after the All Blacks had made it a seven-point game thanks to Peter Lakai's try.

The victory is even more remarkable with Welsh rugby in dire straights after a poor run of results since the 2023 World Cup and a long line of off-field issues overshadowing the sport in the country.

Coach Steve Tandy made five changes from last weekend's tight win over Japan including starting Adam Beard at lock alongside Dafydd Jenkins to improve success at lineout.

New Zealand coach Davie Rennie handed full-back Beauden Barrett the captaincy for the first time on his 149th Test appearance in eight alterations from last Saturday's win over Scotland.

After just seven minutes, the hosts raced to a surprise 14-0 lead thanks to Williams and hooker Dewi Lake with the scrum-half providing the assist for the front-rower.

By the half-hour mark, Wales had a 21-7 lead with prop Archie Griffin diving over as New Zealand scrum-half Cortez Ratima kept the visitors in the game.

The All Blacks underlined their quality by the break as No 8 Wallace Sititi and winger Fehi Fineanganofo scored to bring the sides level at 21 points apiece.

Wales began the second-half as they did the first, and Williams set up another try with a miss-three pass to find Eddie James in the corner before winger Louis Rees-Zammitt dotted down with half an hour to play.

Flanker Lakai's try and Richie Mo'unga's conversion set up a tense final few minutes in the Welsh capital.

New Zealand pressed on the Wales line, having a couple of tries denied by being held up before the hosts managed to grind out a victory in front a joy-filled home crowd.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)