Wales v New Zealand

Thirty-four matches won, one lost; Wales handed the Original All Blacks their sole defeat of the entire tour.

On 16 December 1905, Wales met the touring New Zealand side at Cardiff Arms Park in front of 47,000 spectators. The All Blacks had won every match on their tour of Britain and were considered unbeatable. Wales, captained by Gwyn Nicholls, won 3–0 through a Teddy Morgan try, inflicting the tourists' only defeat in 35 matches. The result remains disputed to this day. All Blacks wing Bob Deans claimed he scored a try that was disallowed by referee John Dallas, insisting until his death that he had grounded the ball over the line. The controversy only deepened the fixture's mythology.

Thirty years of waiting, settled by a single point at Cardiff Arms Park.

It took three decades for Wales to beat New Zealand again. On 21 December 1935, again at Cardiff Arms Park, Claude Davey's Wales side won 13–12 in a match that went down to the wire. The victory confirmed Cardiff as a fortress against the All Blacks and cemented the fixture's reputation as one of rugby's great occasions.

A win that took 70 years to repeat; a sprinter from the track delivered the decisive blow.

On 19 December 1953, Wales beat New Zealand 13–8 at Cardiff Arms Park. Ken Jones, the Olympic sprinter turned wing, scored a famous late try to seal the win. It was Wales' third and, as it turned out, final victory over the All Blacks for 70 years. The ground's aura as a place where New Zealand could be beaten was at its peak.

Even with Edwards, John, and JPR in their prime, Wales could not land a single blow on the All Blacks.

Despite fielding some of the greatest players in Welsh rugby history, including Gareth Edwards, Barry John, and JPR Williams, Wales could not beat New Zealand during their golden era of the 1970s. The 1969 tour match ended 19–0 to the All Blacks, and subsequent encounters in 1972 and 1978 also went New Zealand's way. The inability to win during this period of Welsh dominance remains one of the great frustrations of the fixture.

A 43-point defeat in the inaugural semi-final left little room for argument about where the gap had widened to.

The first Rugby World Cup in 1987 brought Wales and New Zealand together in the semi-final at Ballymore, Brisbane. New Zealand won 49–6, a scoreline that underlined the growing gap between the sides. The All Blacks went on to win the tournament, while Wales were left to reflect on a painful afternoon in the Australian sun.

A roof that closes, a crowd of 74,500 and a new chapter for Welsh rugby; the stadium announced itself in style.

The Millennium Stadium (now Principality Stadium) opened in June 1999, replacing the old Cardiff Arms Park as the home of Welsh rugby. With a capacity of 74,500 and a retractable roof, it gave the fixture a new stage. Wales hosted New Zealand in the 1999 Rugby World Cup pool stage at the new ground, losing 34–9, but the atmosphere under the closed roof became a defining feature of the rivalry.

A Grand Slam year, a centenary occasion; New Zealand still won by 38 points.

The centenary of the 1905 match was marked with a special fixture on 5 November 2005. Wales, fresh from a Grand Slam earlier that year under Mike Ruddock, had genuine hope of ending the losing streak. New Zealand won 41–3, a result that was as emphatic as it was deflating. The occasion was magnificent; the scoreline was not.

Sell-out crowds every time; Cardiff runs on hope, not scorelines.

In the 2021 autumn international at the Principality Stadium, Wales pushed New Zealand to the limit, losing 54–16 in a match that flattered the visitors. More telling was the 2022 encounter, when Wales lost 55–23 despite a spirited second half. The margins remained stubbornly wide, but the fixture continued to sell out within hours, proof that hope and history carry equal weight in Cardiff.

Thirty-eight meetings, three Welsh wins. The hope endures regardless.

Wales and New Zealand met in the 2024 autumn internationals on 1 November at the Principality Stadium. After 38 meetings, New Zealand lead the head-to-head record 35–3, with no draws. The fixture remains one of the most anticipated on the Welsh rugby calendar, a match where the weight of history, the roar of the crowd, and the slim but persistent hope of an upset combine to create something genuinely electric.