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How the Wales side rated in their 35-28 victory over the All Blacks in Cardiff.
1 Nicky Smith – 10
Was penalised for not binding with own feed deep in own territory but didn’t cost his side as All Blacks were pinged for same thing at next scrum. Strong support
work for the 53 minutes he was on the field. First Welsh prop in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
2 Dewi Lake – 10
Superb performance from the skipper. Scored early from close range to give Wales an early 14-0 lead. Did have a lineout overthrow but put in a massive shift with 20 tackles. First Welsh captain in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
3 Archie Griffin – 10
Scored his first test try and what a test to do it. Penalised at the breakdown when Wales had possession. Had seven carries in the first half and like his teammates mostly solid in defence. First Welsh prop in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
4 Dafydd Jenkins – 10
Made 36 tackles! Not a misprint. Almost more than the top three All Blacks tacklers combined. Great at lineout time and worked brilliantly at the breakdown in tandem with Adam Beard. Immense. First Dafydd in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
5 Adam Beard – 10
Imagine making 21 tackles against the All Blacks and only being sixth on the tackle count. Good breakdown work when Wales were on the front foot and stepped up on defence. First Welsh lock in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
6 James Botham – 10
Another player who tackled non-stop for the full 80, finishing with 26 tackles. Huge work-rate. Held up Asafo Aumua to deny a try. First grandson of Ian Botham in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
7 Jac Morgan – 10
My man of the match. Won four turnovers with the first one leading to the opening try. Brought plenty of pressure at the breakdown against a strong trio of Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai and Anton Segner. Won a penalty at the breakdown and completed 28 tackles. Held up the third try that denied the All Blacks. First Welsh Morgan to beat the All Blacks in 73 years.
8 Taine Basham – 10
His first test start in four years. What a return. Was penalised three times but put in some big tackles late in the first half with some charging carries. First Welsh No 8 to beat the All Blacks in 73 years.
9 Tomos Williams – 10
Up there with Morgan for man of the match honours. Scored the first try thanks to bounce of the ball and chip from Louis Rees-Zammit, but it was his pass that put the winger into space. Assisted three other tries with quick direct passes. Missed the tackle of the Cortez Ratima try but other than that didn’t make many mistakes. Commanded the forwards and was always quick to the ruck. Off after 65. First Welsh halfback in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
10 Sam Costelow – 10
Solid off the tee and strong kicking for touch. Also made a few runs with Welsh on attack. Off after 65. First Welsh first five-eighth since Cliff Morgan in 1953 to beat the All Blacks.
11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb – 10
Was the best in the air when called upon and put in a strong hit on Fehi Fineanganofo in the first half. Great job in the air. Ball didn’t really come his way but he’s still the first Welsh 11 to beat the All Blacks in 73 years.
12 Max Llewellyn – 10
Didn’t do much with ball in hand but topped 20 tackles. Was part of the Welsh Under-20s side that beat New Zealand in 2019 so this is nothing new to him. First Welsh Llewellyn in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
13 Eddie James – 10
Another real standout for the Welsh including a try-saving tackle on Anton Lienert-Brown close to the line. Scored himself from close range. Won two turnovers in first half and broke the line. Twenty-four tackles must be the highest by a back against the All Blacks in a long time. First Welsh centre in 73 years to beat the All Blacks.
14 Louis Rees-Zammit – 10
Scored one and set up another with his kick and chase leading to the opening try. Made another decent break down the right-hand side in the first half before crossing over from close range to give Wales a 35-21 lead. Finished with 10 carries, four line breaks and seven tackles. First Welsh player who attempted to crack the NFL and then beat the All Blacks.
15 Blair Murray – 10
An outstanding performance by the former New Plymouth Boys’ High School product. Made a good break linking up with Louis Rees-Zammit and carried strong throughout the test. First Hāwera-born Welshman to beat the All Blacks.
Replacements:
16 Ryan Elias – 10
Overthrew from close range lineout in a brief appearance early in the second half before returning for the last 11 minutes.
17 Gareth Thomas – 10
He’s one of 19 Thomas’ to have played the All Blacks since they last beat them in 1953. Played a huge part by holding up Sititi.
18 Dillon Lewis – 10
Come on late and made a tackle every two minutes to finish with 13.
19 Ben Carter – 10
Came on for the last nine minutes and witnessed history first hand.
20 Taine Plumtree – 10
Wellington College represent. At least one former Blues player was celebrating in Cardiff.
21 Reuben Morgan-Williams – 10
Held up a try during his 16-minute stint.
22 Dan Edwards – 10
On for the last 16 minutes. Didn’t have a lot to do.
23 Louie Hennessey – 10
Just two tackles, might be the least earned 10 in Herald ratings but he was part of history and no one can never take that away from him or the rest of the squad.
Cameron McMillan has been a sports journalist since 2003 and is NZME’s Deputy Head of Sport.
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