Wales skipper Colin Charvis has admitted his side must make a dramatic improvement if they are to stand a chance of running the All Blacks close at Telstra Stadium on Sunday.
Coach Steve Hansen has virtually surrendered any hope of a first victory over New Zealand since 1953 by making 10 changes to the side that defeated Italy last weekend to earn a much-prized quarter-final berth.
With Iestyn Harris and Martyn Williams among those not considered due to minor injuries, Charvis faces the unenviable task of leading an under-strength side into battle against the joint tournament favourites, who are averaging over 70 points a game so far in the competition.
And though they have wins over Canada, Tonga and the Italians behind them, Wales' form does not match that of the All Blacks and Charvis knows even their best might not be good enough.
"We have those three wins under our belt but as a team we will be measured on our performance against the All Blacks," said Charvis. "In order to get the respect we want from the world game we will have to show a lot of improvement on the form we have shown so far."
While lock Brent Cockbain and front-row duo Robin McBryde and Adam Jones retain their places in the pack, only Celtic Warriors centre Sonny Parker remains in the back division.
Hansen has also resisted the temptation to throw Welsh Under-21 skipper Paul James into the fray even though the young prop has now arrived in Australia as the replacement for broken-leg victim Duncan Jones.
WALES (v New Zealand):Evans (Celtic Warriors); S Williams (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), M Taylor (Llanelli), S Parker (Celtic Warriors), T Shanklin (Cardiff); S Jones (Llanelli), G Cooper (Celtic Warriors)' I Thomas (Llanelli), R McBryde (Llanelli), A Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), B Cockbain (Celtic Warriors), R Sidoli (Celtic Warriors), J Thomas (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), C Charvis (unatt,cpt), A Popham (Leeds). Replacements: M Davies (Celtic Warriors), G Jenkins (Celtic Warriors), C Wyatt (Llanelli), D Jones (Llanelli), D Peel (Llanelli), C Sweeney (Celtic Warriors), G Thomas (Celtic Warriors).