Wales had only come close on a handful of occasions with one-point defeats in 1978, when New Zealand lock Andy Haden infamously dived out of a lineout to gain a match-winning penalty, and then in 2004.
Wales even turned to four New Zealand coaches in Sir Graham Henry, Steve Hansen, Gatland and Wayne Pivac to help break the hoodoo, but none of the quartet could inspire a Test victory over the land of their birth.
So there will be added satisfaction that it was a Welshman who masterminded the long-awaited win.
Steve Tandy’s side may not have the household names of teams gone by, nor the winning pedigree, but they had courage when it mattered.
Three times they held up black shirts over the try-line during a second-half defensive efforts that at times beggared belief.
Initial statistics had second-row Dafydd Jenkins equalling Thierry Dusautoir’s world record of 38 tackles in a single match – also set against New Zealand in 2007.
Jac Morgan and man of the match James Botham also topped 30 tackles, while centre Eddie James and captain Dewi Lake were not far behind.
It earned high praise from former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick.
A winner in all six meetings with Wales, the ex-hooker has ties to that day seven decades ago when his father Brian made his New Zealand debut.
Observers say he was unlucky not to be awarded a try after he was adjudged to have been tackled just short of the line. How different history might have been.
“New Zealand played well in patches and terrible in others but this is all about Wales,” said Fitzpatrick, now a board member of Welsh region Scarlets.
“They way they started the game and took their tries showed the amazing belief they had. But the defensive effort was out of this world.”