All Blacks Crush Wales 52-26 as Tom Rogers Makes History with First Welsh Hat-Trick vs New Zealand

It was a night of heartbreak and heroics at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff—a place where Welsh pride usually roars louder than the wind off the Bristol Channel. But on November 22, 2025, the New Zealand All Blacks didn’t just beat Wales. They dismantled them. 52-26. Seven tries to four. And yet, amid the carnage, something extraordinary happened: Tom Rogers, the 25-year-old Welsh winger, became the first Welsh player in history to score a hat-trick against the All Blacks. It was a moment that will echo in Cardiff for decades—even if the scoreboard tells a different story.

The First Half: A Battle of Will and Winger

The match kicked off under a cold, clear Cardiff sky, the stadium packed to its 73,931-capacity limit. Within five minutes, Caleb Abraham Clarke of New Zealand burst through the Welsh line like a freight train, finishing a slick backline move to give the All Blacks an early 7-0 lead. But Wales didn’t fold. Within minutes, Tom Rogers pounced on a high ball from Louis Rees-Zammit, diving over for his first try. The conversion tied it up. 7-7.

What followed was a rollercoaster of brilliance and blunders. Wallace Sititi bulldozed his way into the 22, drawing three defenders before offloading to Ruben Love, who danced past two tacklers to score. Wales answered again—this time through a tactical gem from scrum-half Tomos Williams. A perfectly timed chip, collected by Blair Murray, set up Rogers for his second try. 14-14. For a moment, it felt like Wales might pull off the unthinkable.

But the All Blacks aren’t called the All Blacks for nothing. At the 38th minute, prop Tamaiti Williams spun out of a tackle like a man possessed, crossing for his first international try. Fly-half Damian John McKenzie slotted the conversion, and suddenly, it was 24-14 at halftime. Wales had fought hard. But New Zealand had already shown they were playing a different game.

The Second Half: The Collapse and the Comeback That Wasn’t

The second half began with a bang. Two minutes in, Rogers completed his hat-trick—streaking down the left touchline after a crisp pass from Max Llewellyn. The crowd erupted. 21-24. The dream was alive. For 60 seconds, Wales believed.

Then came the turning point.

Prop Gareth Thomas was sin-binned at 45 minutes for a dangerous tackle. Then, at 49, number eight Taine Plumtree followed for a high shot on a loose ball. Wales, down to 13 men, couldn’t hold. Not against this team.

Sevu Reece—New Zealand’s lethal winger—pounced. First, he caught a loose pass and sprinted 60 meters untouched. Then, seven minutes later, he finished off a lineout move with a brutal sidestep and a dive over the line. 38-21. The game was over. The All Blacks weren’t just winning. They were teaching.

Wales added a late try through Rees-Zammit, but Caleb Clarke had the last word. His second try of the night, a simple finish after a break by Damian McKenzie, sealed the 52-26 result. Eight conversions from McKenzie. Seven tries. Zero mercy.

Why This Matters: History and the Heavy Weight of Expectation

Rogers’ hat-trick is more than a stat. It’s a milestone. In 124 years of rugby between Wales and New Zealand, no Welshman had ever scored three tries in a single match against the All Blacks. Not during the 1905 Originals tour. Not during the 1978 Lions era. Not even in the glory days of Shane Williams or Mark Jones. This was personal. This was historic. And yet, it was drowned out by a performance that reminded everyone why New Zealand remains the gold standard.

The All Blacks now extend their winning streak against Wales to 34 consecutive matches—a run that began in 1999. That’s not dominance. That’s institutional superiority. Their 68% possession and 62% territory stats weren’t flukes. They were the product of precision, patience, and relentless pressure. Wales, meanwhile, conceded 14 penalties—far too many for a side trying to build momentum ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

What’s Next? World Cup Dreams and the Road to Twickenham

For Wales, the focus shifts to recovery and reflection. Head coach Warren David Gatland, the New Zealand-born tactician who’s led Wales since 2019, now faces questions about his side’s discipline and depth. The sin-bins for Thomas and Plumtree will be reviewed by the Welsh Rugby Union’s judicial committee within 48 hours, per World Rugby Regulation 17. Discipline isn’t just about penalties—it’s about mindset.

New Zealand, meanwhile, heads to Twickenham Stadium in London on November 29, 2025, to face England in their next Quilter Nations Series fixture. Their world ranking of 92.54 remains unchallenged. Their aura? Still intact. Coach Scott Erua Robertson, in his first full season at the helm, has already stamped his authority. This wasn’t just a win. It was a statement.

The Bigger Picture: Beyond the Scoreline

The financial impact was significant. The Principality Stadium sold out. Sky Sports and NBC Sports broadcasted the match to millions, with broadcast rights fees flowing into the Welsh Rugby Union’s coffers. Flashscore.com’s live data feed showed New Zealand’s dominance in every metric—rucking efficiency, lineout success rate, defensive ruck speed. This wasn’t luck. It was engineering.

And yet, in the quiet corners of Cardiff, fans are already talking about Rogers. About how he stood tall when the world expected him to break. About how he made history, even in defeat. That’s the strange beauty of rugby. Sometimes, the most enduring moments aren’t the wins.