Minor victories seem to be Wales' lot when assessing their rugby encounters with the All Blacks over the last half century.

And they secured another one at the Millennium Stadium, defiantly standing their ground after staring down the haka.

The Wales players stood shoulder to shoulder while the All Blacks performed Kapa O Pango before 74,067 raucous fans and then made no attempt to disperse after it was complete - a bold act which prompted New Zealand to also refuse to budge.

An eyeballing confrontation continued for about a minute as South African referee Jonathan Kaplan struggled to get the players to take their positions for kick-off.

The match eventually started two minutes later than scheduled after Kaplan had to manhandle All Blacks players from their formation near halfway.

Kaplan also had to implore the Welsh to break ranks, which they did after All Blacks captain Richie McCaw instructed his players to end the stalemate.

"It's something we came up with during the week, essentially what we were trying to show is it's our stadium, our fans and we weren't prepared to give up the ground," explained Wales' captain Ryan Jones.

Wales' stubborn response adds another footnote to the history of the haka - and how teams choose to react to it.

Wales, one of New Zealand's long-standing rugby rivals, secured another pre-match victory when the All Blacks last played Wales in Cardiff two years ago.

Then, match organisers decreed the haka would be performed before the national anthems - in an attempt to dilute the All Blacks' traditional challenge.

They refused to comply and instead performed the haka in their dressing room before management and players not included in the 22-man squad.

The confrontation also came just hours after the Australian rugby league team eyeballed from close range the Kiwis before kick-off in the World Cup final in Brisbane.

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