"That was amazing"- Why do Wales players and coaches keep highlighting New Zealand defeat ahead of Six Nations?

Steve Tandy, after naming his initial 38-man squad, Dewi Lake at the Six Nations launch in Edinburgh last Monday, Danny Wilson, and Aaron Wainwright on Wednesday afternoon at the Vale Resort, have all highlighted the encounter against the All Blacks last November.

Watch the Guinness Six Nations at your local Greene King sports pub.

On that day in Cardiff, Wales lost 52-26 in what would have been Scott Robertson’s last game as New Zealand head coach. But weeks later, it is being held up as evidence of something building under the tutelage of new head coach Tandy.

Normally, after conceding 50 points, that result is put aside and quickly forgotten, but a brutal 73-0 thumping by South Africa the week after makes this loss seem different for Wales. They have endured some bruising matches, more so than in games against France and England in the 2025 Six Nations. Both were buried swiftly.

The showing that was showcased against New Zealand isn’t a scar on this Wales side, but that outing in the Welsh capital can be used as a measuring stick. A glimmer of hope, heading into daunting meetings against the old enemy and France to begin this year’s Six Nations.

During the autumn internationals, Wales were on track for their performance in 2025. They matched the All Blacks’ physicality, collision for collision; it looked like the best cohesive outing since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and forced New Zealand into uncharacteristic errors.

For Tandy, who by trade is a defensive-minded coach, it would have been pleasing for the 46-year-old.

“To put the performance that we did against the All Blacks, I thought that was an amazing game and really reflected us well on what we’re trying to do as a team,” said Wainwright, who dropped out of the encounter in November and was replaced by Taine Plumtree.

“So, I think if you pick out bits from each of those games (in the autumn) then that’s us.”

Dewi Lake, who will captain Wales in Twickenham, added in Edinburgh: “The past 12-18 months, probably acts as motivation for us.

“We did it for 50-60 minutes against New Zealand, we did it from 14-0 down against Argentina.

“So we’ve shown glimpses of the team we can be and what we want to show; it’s just about doing that over a sustained period of time now in games that are massively competitive.”

England is Wales's opponent at the Allianz Stadium, and during the autumn international, they recorded an impressive 33-19 victory against the All Blacks. The following weekend against Argentina, they extended their Test match winning run to 11 and currently occupy third place in the World Rugby rankings.

In contrast, Wales has recorded heavy losses at the hands of both England (68-14) and South Africa (73-0). But Wainwright believes that Wales can cause an upset. “Picking up from where we left off in the autumn, there were some good glimpses of what we were about and our identity and what we’re trying to achieve as a group,” Wainwright continued.

“I think it’s just, can we keep building and showing what we can do as a group and hopefully that is reflected in the game on Saturday

“Focused on all parts of the game, but we’ve spoken about fronting up, first game of the Six Nations, England v Wales can be a massive game, and you don’t really need too much more emphasis put on it to get up for it.

“But I think defensively we need to be right on the money.

“That’s what our focus has been on at the start of the week, showing our identity when we get out there on Saturday.

“We saw a glimpse of it in the Autumn, but can we do that for 80 minutes and really put in a performance to show what we’re about.”