Wales beat New Zealand 35–28 at the Principality Stadium to secure their first victory over the All Blacks since 1953, ending 73 years and 34 successive defeats with tearful celebrations in Cardiff.

Steve Tandy’s team won the Nations Championship encounter before 55,152 spectators. Players were in tears as they absorbed a result that ranks among the most significant in Wales’ 145-year Test history.

The long losing sequence helps explain the disbelief among supporters, many of whom had arrived hoping for a competitive performance rather than victory. Even late in the match, confidence remained fragile.

Iwan Beggs, 25, from Swansea, said he and his friends were shaking around the 70th minute and only began to believe Wales could win around the 78th. At the finish, people behind them were crying.

Joy Morris, 62, a retired civil servant from Ammanford, had expected little more than the opportunity to see Wales score a try. She described the tension as time ran out: “The last two minutes were absolutely… my heart was pounding, pounding. Just keep the ball.”

Her friend Lynne Caddell, 64, also a retired civil servant who had travelled from West Wales, said she was delighted for the team. Rhodri Jenkins, a 24-year-old PhD student from Cardiff, had expected Wales to test New Zealand, but not defeat them.

Sarah Hogan, a nurse from Anglesey attending only her second Wales match, praised the defence and said she had avoided commenting on how well the team were playing for fear of jinxing them. Vincent Edwards, a coal merchant also from Anglesey, described the atmosphere as “electric”.

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said the victory would live long in Welsh sporting history. Stephen Kinnock, Secretary of State for Wales, watched the final 20 minutes after speaking at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno and expressed his astonishment at the result.

Laura Anne Jones, the Senedd member for Sir Fynwy Torfaen and deputy leader of Reform UK Wales, congratulated the players and coaches, praising their determination. Gavin & Stacey writer and actress Ruth Jones posted an exuberant reaction on Instagram, expressing her pride in Welsh rugby.

For travelling New Zealand supporters, the result brought disappointment. Sam Kennedy, 24, said: “I’ve travelled all this way just to see that All Blacks lose, I’m gutted.”