Wales upset All Blacks to keep Springboks in Nations Championship hunt

Wales beat the All Blacks for the first time since 1953, which helps the Springboks Nations Championship campaign after their loss against France. An incredible performance from a fired up Welsh team saw them massively upset the odds to nab a 35-28 win over the All Blacks at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday afternoon, to help firmly keep alive the Springboks hopes of making the Nations Championship final in England at the end of the month. After the Boks were downed 21-19 in a thriller by France in Paris on Friday night, it put the All Blacks into the driving seat on the South section log, just needing to win their final two pool matches to secure their spot in the main game at Twickenham. Many were hoping that England would do the Boks a favour next weekend by beating the All Blacks, but instead it was Wales that stunningly stood up with a statement performance, to beat New Zealand for the first time since 1953. Wales only broke a world record international losing streak of 18 games in July last year, when they beat Japan in Kobe, and they have since won just four more matches, two against Japan, one against Fiji and one against Italy, so heading into the All Blacks match they were huge underdogs. Greatest upsets They then produced arguably one of the greatest upsets in rugby history under the circumstances, up there with the likes of Italy’s win over the Springboks at the 2015 World Cup, and Japan’s win over Ireland at the 2019 World Cup. It was built around a stunning defensive shift that saw them make over 300 tackles in the match and hold up the All Blacks three times over the tryline in the second half, while they took their chances with some wonderful attacking play, as they ran in five tries, three in the first half to go in level at 21-all, and two at the start of the second, before incredibly holding the All Blacks to just one try over the second 40. “Look the boys worked hard today. We said earlier in the week that we have a lot to put right from last week (hard fought 28-21 win over Japan), performance wise. It wasn’t perfect at times today, but the trust we have got in this group and the care we have for each other, it goes a long way,” said emotional Wales captain Dewi Lake after the match. “We said all week we were going to fire a shot and attack them. I think it’s the only way to play the All Blacks sometimes. If you look back at 12 months ago we did attack them in the first half and in the second we didn’t, and that is where we fell. “So there was a big emphasis on us coming out and imposing ourselves on the game, and I think we did that today.” All Blacks hold the cards Despite the result the All Blacks still hold all the cards, due to the two bonus points picked up for scoring four tries and finishing within seven of Wales, which sees them go top of the South section log on 22 points to the Boks 21. So a bonus point win over England next weekend will confirm their place in the Nations Championship final at Twickenham, while the Boks will likely need a bonus point win over Ireland and hope England does them a favour, to get back to the summit and into the main game. “Wales played very well, all credit to them. We knew if we allowed their support to get behind them (it would be tough). We just weren’t clinical enough. At the start of each half we allowed them to feed the crowd, and they then defended extremely well in that second half,” said disappointed All Blacks skipper Beauden Barrett after the game. “I think we crossed the line three times, held up three times, and that was probably the difference in the end. Their passion was the difference. “We have to bounce back. This group has been through a lot over the past couple of weeks. We have to find a way and this team can find a way. We know the answers are in the circle. Whilst it’s going to be extremely painful to get over this (loss), we will find a way next week because we need a response.”