Sam Warburton: Wales win is my proudest moment since retiring

Sam Warburton says Wales’ 35-28 victory over New Zealand is the proudest he has felt watching his country since he retired.

Steve Tandy’s side beat the All Blacks at the Principality Stadium on Saturday for the first time since 19 December 1953, ending a run of 34 straight defeats. You can read how the game unfolded in our Wales vs New Zealand result report.

What Sam Warburton said

The former Wales and two-time Lions captain pointed to how far this group has come after a record run of 18 straight Test defeats.

“Considering what they’ve gone through in the last 24 months, it’s the proudest that I’ve felt watching Wales since I retired,” Warburton told TNT Sports. “Defiance, resilience, work ethic and toughness. Everything that Welsh culture is built on finally came to fruition today.”

He also singled out scrum-half Tomos Williams, who he said “looked the world-class scrum-half that he is”.

How Wales stopped New Zealand’s offloads

Warburton was most impressed by the detail in Wales’ defence.

“I thought defensively you could tell they had really worked on what you call ‘time in the tackle’,” he said. “Every time they tackled New Zealand they were targeting the ball and trying to stop the offloads.”

That approach demanded a huge workload. Wales made 346 tackles, Sky News reported, and Exeter captain Dafydd Jenkins made 38 of them, according to the figures cited by BBC Sport. That matches Thierry Dusautoir’s tally against New Zealand at the same ground in the 2007 World Cup quarter-final.

It worked. Wales held New Zealand up over the line three times in the second half. Beauden Barrett, captaining the All Blacks for the first time, said afterwards: “It felt like a brick wall at times, so you have to give them credit.”

What it means for Tandy

Tandy is now the first Wales head coach to beat New Zealand. Wales had no head coach when they won in 1905, 1935 and 1953. Warren Gatland, Graham Henry and Steve Hansen all tried and failed during their time in charge.

Wales scored five tries and Sam Costelow kicked all five conversions. But, as Warburton identified, it was the work without the ball, targeting it in the tackle and stopping the offloads, that made the difference.

Catch up on the rest of our international rugby coverage.

Sam Warburton on Wales: FAQ

What did Sam Warburton say about Wales beating New Zealand?
He said it was the proudest he has felt watching Wales since he retired, praising their “defiance, resilience, work ethic and toughness”.

How many tackles did Wales make against New Zealand?
346, with Dafydd Jenkins making 38, according to the figures cited by BBC Sport.

When did Wales last beat New Zealand before this?
19 December 1953.