All Blacks v Wales: Dave Rennie says New Zealand side ‘out-passioned’ and ‘outpointed’ in loss – Liam Napier
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By Liam Napier in Cardiff
Against all odds doesn’t do it justice.
Quite how Wales ended seven decades of suffering against the All Blacks will be the subject of oval ball fans for many years to come.
For now, though, Wales toast their heroes. The
streets of Cardiff are celebratory carnage; awash with stunned, ecstatic punters – many of them stumbling with joy – as they savour one of the great rugby upsets.
After 34 straight losses to the All Blacks since their last success in 1953, Welsh fans have waited a lifetime for this moment. So many greats of their game never earned victory against the All Blacks.
Steve Tandy’s rebuilding Welsh were the most unlikely to achieve the feat, too. They scraped past Japan last week – and hadn’t beaten a top eight side for three years, since the 2023 World Cup. This is their sixth win in that time.
Yet here we are, struggling to comprehend how Wales repelled the All Blacks at Principality Stadium.
In the immediate aftermath of the shock setback, the All Blacks are certainly rocked by the result that drastically alters the complexion of their season and demands a swift response.
Everything from selection to on-field leadership, mentality and tactics will be examined.
“Massively disappointed,” All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said, as his tenure slumped to a 69% win record with the fourth loss from 11 tests this year.
“We’ll look at everything. When you lose, it’s not just on the players. It’s around how did we prepare the team this week, selection and our decision-making around substitutions. We certainly got out-passioned. We got outpointed in lots of areas tonight.”
Rennie’s All Blacks appeared to turn a corner since the greatest rivalry tour to South Africa. Three successive losses to the Springboks dished out harsh lessons that seemed to be absorbed in three comprehensive wins against the Wallabies and Scotland.
Losing a 73-year record sparks a spotlight on that perceived progress, though. Such a significant black mark and serious setback squanders momentum and confidence constructed in recent weeks.
“It hurts but you’ve got to take it on the chin,” Rennie said. “We weren’t good enough tonight. Wales were passionate. Every time they kept us out they grew and they became harder to break down.
“We’ve got to be better. We expect a lot more of ourselves. We need to see a response at Twickenham next week.”
Cohesion was largely absent from the All Blacks. They were rattled early by the swarming Welsh defence. Their attack was hesitant, disjointed and individualistic, particularly in the first half where they forced needless offloads and lacked patience.
Erratic decision-making coughed up too many turnovers, and their lineout faltered with two overthrows.
“That’s decision-making. We turned the ball over nine times in the first half; four of them were from offloads,” Rennie said. “It’s a point of difference for us but it’s about the quality of the decisions and using the appropriate pass.”
Defensively, the All Blacks conceded the first two tries – and two more after halftime left them chasing the game.
They had ample ball to launch a decisive comeback but their one-dimensional approach helped the tenacious Welsh survive a relentless final-quarter onslaught.
Wales courageously defended their line. In a defiant stand, they made 196 more tackles than the All Blacks, with seven players contributing at least 20 each.
Three times the All Blacks were held up over the line to manage one second-half try.
“It’s tough to take, particularly when we were building a lot of pressure and we couldn’t convert that into points,” stand-in All Blacks captain Beauden Barrett said.
“Numerous times we were held up. It felt like we needed one of those to level the scoreboard and the whole game would’ve changed. It’s frustrating. It felt like a brick wall at times, so you have to give them credit.”
Wallace Sititi and Peter Lakai performed strongly in defeat. Many others, though, hurt their chances of further game time on this tour.
Rennie refused to attribute any blame on to the 10 squad changes he ushered in from last week’s dominant win at Murrayfield to Cardiff.
“No, we had a good enough side on the field tonight to win. We just weren’t clinical enough and they were very good defensively. I have no regrets around the side we picked. There’s really good competition for places; there’s not a lot in certain positions. The expectation is whoever wears the jersey fronts.”
In seven days the All Blacks must stomach the pain to respond against England.
Wales, though, will forever cherish this improbable day.
“I feel pride for the players, and to see what it means to the supporters,” Tandy said. “We have been wanting some positivity, and I think the players delivered that.
“You always have belief. They are a special group of people, and there will be lots of bumps along the road but the boys can be super-proud.
“The players were phenomenal. New Zealand threw everything at us. It’s just an amazing feeling. We have got to savour moments like this.”
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.
Listen to Elliott Smith’s live commentary on Newstalk ZB Sport and iHeartRadio, or join the Alternative Commentary Collective on iHeartRadio and Radio Hauraki.
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