The Match of the Century (Welsh: Gêm y Ganrif) is the unofficial name of a rugby union Test match played between Wales and New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park on 16th December 1905 in front of a crowd of 47,000. The game was billed as the "Match of the Century" or "The World Championship" as it was a first meeting of the top two international teams.

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The Match of the Century

A scrum during the match
Event	"The Originals" Tour
Wales New Zealand 3 0
Wales won by a try to nothing.
Date	16 December 1905
Venue	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Referee	John Dallas (Scotland)
Attendance	47,000

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The match was part of New Zealand's "Originals" tour and was their only loss in 35 matches. The result provoked much debate, with later writers noting its impact on the sporting culture of both countries. The Welsh crowd's singing of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau as a response to the All Blacks' Haka is often cited as the first national anthem to be sung before an international sports event.^[1]

By the time the tour arrived in Wales, the All Blacks had not conceded a single point in their last 600 minutes of rugby. They had played 27 matches on the tour so far, scoring 801 points and conceding just 22. They had also won all three of the preceding international matches, two without conceding any points (12–7 against Scotland, 15–0 against Ireland and 15–0 against England).^[2]

Wales were also unbeaten that year (defeating England 25–0, Scotland 6–3 and Ireland 10–3 in winning the Home Nations Championship) and had not lost a home international since 1899. As such, many commentators in New Zealand and the UK saw the match as the best chance of stopping an All Blacks clean sweep, and billed the game as the "Match of the Century" or "The World Championship Match" long before the tour had begun.^[3][4]

The All Blacks played Yorkshire, at Headingley Rugby Stadium on 13 December, winning the game convincingly 40–0. The team travelled to Wales by train on 15 December, arriving at Cardiff station in the evening. Despite the late hour, the visitors received a raucous welcome, a large crowd (contemporary estimates put the crowd at 20,000) had gathered to greet the All Blacks both inside the station and along the neighbouring streets, preventing the players from getting to their hotel, and police had to force a path through the crowd for the tourists.^[5]

As early as October, the Welsh Match Committee had been observing the All Blacks tour. On 19 October, the committee travelled to Gloucester and witness the tourists defeating one of the best club sides in England 44–0. It is thought that the scale and manner of this All Blacks victory encouraged the Welsh observers to develop new tactics that could match the tourists' unorthodox style.

On 20 November, the first of two trials was held. The "Probables" attempted to play the same formation (with seven packed forwards rather than eight) that the New Zealanders had been using throughout the tour. However, the team were beaten 18–9 by a "Possibles" team using the traditional Welsh formation. Despite this setback, the selectors persisted with the new formation and won a second trial match 33–11.

On 7 December, Dicky Owen took change of another training session where he devised and practiced the move that would result in the match's only try. The final training session was held on 12 December, dedicated to drop kicking and more pertinently, perfecting their new scrum technique.^[6]

Away from the pitch, there were also discussions on a possible response to the Haka. The selector Tom Williams suggested that an appropriately Welsh response to the cultural challenge would be with singing, and that they should sing the Welsh anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.^[7] Williams' proposal became a matter of national discourse, with the Western Mail publishing numerous articles encouraging Welsh supporters to join the players once the Haka had been completed. Despite the popularity of the suggestion, there was no official plan for a response, and it remained unclear if the crowd would respond at all.^[8]

Although Wales had long been considered the toughest test for the All Blacks, many in the London press did not see how Wales could win. This view gained momentum as the All Blacks toured England, beating the best English sides by a growing margin. By the day of the match, many commentators had written off Wales' chances completely.^[10]

For the All Blacks, the test match was their 28th game in three months. Changes were made to the starting XV, with conflicting post-tour reports suggesting players were rested, injured or ill. Billy Stead was reportedly unable to play due an illness, and was asked to run the line for the match instead. Terry McLean later stated his belief that Stead's illness had a crucial impact on the result, with Stead unable to perform his duties (McLean states he left the side line to find a toilet), he left George Nicholson to run the line in his place. McLean and others felt that had Stead been running the line, he would have been able to get to the Deans incident earlier and confirm his score. G. W. Smith would not play, any part in the match despite being one of the tourists' most celebrated athletes, and seen by many as the All Blacks' most attacking three-quarter of the whole tour.

It was known that the match would be a major event and additional trains were laid on for the travelling spectators. Large queues formed before the Arms Park gates were opened at 11am and the large turnout meant that the gates had to be shut again by 1.30pm as the ground was already full.^[11] Many of those locked outside of the ground climbed trees or found other vantage points in order to glimpse the match. Taxi drivers parked outside the ground and charged people for the privilege of standing on their cabs to get a view over the stand.^[12]

At the final whistle the crowd rushed the field and carried some of the Welsh players on their shoulders. Gallaher would later bring his team into the Welsh changing room to congratulate the winners and the players exchanged jerseys. Despite the controversies that would emerge from the result, Gallaher maintained that "the best team won".^[28]

Later discussions and interviews would focus on what was so different about the Wales game. The Welsh anthem, scrummaging tactics, the Deans incident and the fitness of the All Black players have all been named as factors. Both Gallaher & Dixon would later write that the Welsh match was "one match too far" and the All Blacks, despite what the score lines prior to the match had suggested, were tired.^[29]

• History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and Wales
• History of rugby union in New Zealand
• History of rugby union in Wales