AS Wales prepares to face the mighty All Blacks this weekend, MARTIN WADE recalls the last time New Zealand were beaten by the Welsh and the connection between Gwent, the RAF and that famous victory.

The figure is lean and purposeful. The face set with iron determination. The ball tucked firmly under his right arm, his left powering him forward.

The statue of Ken Jones in his home town of Blaenavon captures the sense of this athlete supreme. An Olympic medal-winning sprinter at the 1948 London games, he tore through the All Blacks lines in the British Lions tour of 1950 and he did it again when New Zealand came to Wales in 1953.

Again he displayed the sprinter's speed and again he displayed the guile of a world-class wing. Again, he was unstoppable.

Under the headline 'Ken Jones's Great Part in Welsh Triumph' the Argus told how the Blaenavon wing had secure victory for Wales. So many years down the line, beating the All Blacks still has an air of improbability about it, but then, as the Argus said, it was the third win in four games over the All Blacks during their tour.

By 1953 the two countries had met three times with Wales up by two games to one. On this tour New Zealand had beaten Llanelli but Cardiff had overcome them by eight points to 13.

Ken Jones had been carrying a knee injury from an earlier Newport game. He still secured his place in the Wales team after trials at Cardiff. Five of them had played test rugby against New Zealand for the British Lions in 1950. Ken had scored a famous try in one of those tests at Eden Park.

This was also the first Wales home match to be transmitted live on television.

When Wales faced the All Blacks 64 years ago, eight years after the end of the war, rationing was still in place. The food the players ate was pretty much the same as that eaten by spectators. There were no nutritionists then and carb loading meant bread and potatoes - if it meant anything at all.

There was no specialist coaching. A cryogenic chamber would have seemed like something out of Dan Dare. Preparation consisted of a talk from captain Bleddyn Williams. There would be no in-depth analysis of the opposition. He would concentrate on how Wales would play.

It was a Welsh triumph, the Argus rugby writer Jack Davis said was: "snatched against all the odds" - as all the best triumphs are. It was, he said, "the most thrilling climax ever seen in a big rugby game".

The omens were good but it had not all been plane sailing. Wales were trailing 8-5 in the last 15 minutes and the game had seemed to be lost before Ken Jones streaked over the line to give them this famous win to the delight of the 50,000-strong crowd.

We learnt that the ground was "well-filled" long before kick-off the crowd's singing was "well above average".

Clarke kicked off towards the river for the All Blacks on a beautiful "spring-like" day. Despite a brilliant tackle by Ken Jones on Jarden, the All Blacks piled on the pressure.

But Jones' vital contribution wasn't limited to the winning try. He played a vital part in the first try too. The Argus told how Rhys Stephens hooked the ball out of reach of the clutches of a New Zealander and Jones, who was also the Newport captain "because of his great speed and awareness was able to prevent the ball going into touch".

It was Ken Jones who slammed Bob Scott down and keep him there allowing Sid Judd to score the first Welsh try.

It was Ken Jones who receiving only his second pass of the match, cross-kicked with such precision that Meredith, had he been a little faster, must have scored, but from the position won by this move that Gwyn Rowlands was able to level the scores with a penalty try.

And of course it was Ken Jones who scored that history-making try, judging, said Jack Davis "his effort to a fraction of a second".

Clem Thomas kicked the ball diagonally into the All Black 25. The ball bounced into clear space and Ken Jones seized his chance and sprinted for the line.

Later, Thomas was to say: “Why did I cross-kick at that moment? Well I just had to do something… so I just booted it and hoped I had done the right thing.” He certainly had.

The Argus told how Wales seemed to have "shot their bolt" in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but they managed to stave off repeated attacks from the New Zealanders.

Readers also learnt of the delight that win brought. "Many jubilant Welshmen threw their hats in the air, for this try lifted them from the depths of despond to the peak of ecstasy." Davis added: "Five minutes before, not the most enthusiastic singer of 'Sospan Fach' would have put a penny on Welsh chances."

The RAF involvement came from two key people that day. The winning try-scorer Ken Jones and the captain Bleddyn Williams.

Ken enlisted in the RAF in 1942. He began his training at RAF St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan before being transferred to Kirkham in Lancashire to complete his training and was there told to prepare for duty overseas.

In March 1943, the LAC (Leading Aircraftman) joined a troopship bound for India. There he was posted to RAF Chakeri in the north-east of the country. This was in the region of the frontline with Japanese-occupied Burma.

The forces welcome sporting talent, and unsurprisingly, he was snapped up to play rugby for the RAF many times.

After returning from the war, Jones played for Blaenavon and Pontypool and with the opening of the 1946-47 season he had a trial with Newport at Rodney Parade. He was successful and he spent the rest of his club career with the Black and Ambers. He captained Newport for two seasons in 1950-51 and 1953-54. During his first tenure he inspired them to lift the Welsh club championship for the first time since 1922.

Another key player on that day in 1953 when the All Blacks were beaten was captain Bleddyn Williams. Known as the ‘Prince of Centres’ he joined the Royal Air Force and trained as a fighter pilot in Arizona. He later was transferred to flying gliders, seeing action in Operation Varsity – the largest airborne operation in history designed to secure control of the Rhine crossing in March 1945.

Having landed his glider, he was stranded amid the fighting for three days. His Commanding Officer eventually found him and said: “Williams – aren’t you meant to be at Welford Road tomorrow playing for Great Britain? They need you! Go now!”

A flight was arranged for him and he got back in time to play.

Before the All Blacks and Wales stride out onto the Principality Stadium turf on Saturday, the crowd will have been entertained by RAF's elite drill team the Queen's Colour Squadron and the Central Band of the RAF.

To give the crowd some 'hwyl' before the game the RAF musicians will accompany massed choirs with some Welsh classics such as Cwm Rhondda, Sospan Fach, Delilah and of course, Hymns and Arias.

Before the kick-off, they will be joined by RAF personnel, many from Wales, with a number playing rugby for the senior RAF men’s or women’s teams. Also on the pitch will be Air Cadets, from cities, towns and villages across Wales and members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Hopefully both Ken Jones and Bleddyn Williams, from their seats on high (as Max Boyce would have it and who are we to argue?) will smile in remembrance at tunes they once marched to when they wore Air Force blue and, of course, when they beat the mighty All Blacks.