Barrett credits Wales defence after historic 35-28 defeat for All Blacks

Wales defeated New Zealand 35-28 at Principality Stadium on Saturday, ending a 73-year wait for a victory over the All Blacks. The Nations Championship result broke a sequence of 34 defeats against New Zealand, with visiting captain Beauden Barrett crediting the home defence, BBC Sport reported.

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Steve Tandy's side made 346 tackles, including 38 by lock Dafydd Jenkins, and prevented New Zealand from grounding the ball over the line on three occasions in the second half. Barrett, captaining the All Blacks in a Test for the first time, said the Welsh resistance had felt like a brick wall. He also acknowledged the influence of the Cardiff crowd.

Wales established their advantage through tries from Tomos Williams, Dewi Lake and Archie Griffin, according to Sky Sports' match report. They led 14-0 and later 21-7, but could not carry that margin into the interval. Cortez Ratima, Wallace Sititi and Fehi Fineanganofo scored for New Zealand, with Fineanganofo's try arriving in first-half added time to help bring the teams level at 21-21.

The hosts responded after the restart with tries from Eddie James and Louis Rees-Zammit, restoring a 14-point cushion at 35-21. Peter Lakai then scored for New Zealand to reduce the difference to seven. The visitors spent much of the remaining contest attacking close to the Welsh line, but could not produce the additional score needed to draw level.

New Zealand coach Dave Rennie defended his team selection despite making eight changes to the starting side that had beaten Scotland. BBC Sport reported that Rennie believed his players had created enough chances to win, but had failed to finish them effectively against strong defending. He accepted that Wales had shown greater passion and called for a response from his team.

Wales finished with five tries, their highest total against New Zealand, alongside the defensive effort that protected their lead. Their next Nations Championship assignment is against Australia in Cardiff on November 21. The All Blacks face England at Twickenham the same day, with both fixtures listed in Sky Sports' match report.