All Blacks coach Steve Hansen knows better than most how a wounded Wales side can react and it was making him wary as he prepared the world champions for what could be a series-clinching test on Saturday.
Hansen spent two years with Wales before joining the All Blacks in 2004 and had no doubt how the tourists would be feeling after losing last weekend’s first test 39-21 before the Waikato Chiefs crushed their midweek side 40-7 on Tuesday.
“They will be pissed off,” Hansen told reporters on Thursday. “When you’re pissed off, it doesn’t take much to get your mental side of your game right.
“The mental side of their game will be fixed up because of the game on Tuesday won’t it? They’ll front up in a big way on Saturday.”
While Hansen did not need reminding of the backlash his players could expect from 23 fire-breathing Welshman in Wellington on Saturday, Wales inside centre Jamie Roberts underlined what was required from the men in red.
“Coming off Tuesday we owe the jersey a game,” said Roberts, who came off the bench in the Chiefs match.
“We let the jersey down being part of that squad. We owe the jersey a performance and certainly the Welsh supporters a performance.”
The long-suffering Welsh supporters, who last celebrated a victory over the All Blacks in 1953, should have plenty to be happy about despite the lack of depth exposed by the Hamilton rout.
During the first test at Eden Park, the visitors were in the match for 60 minutes, only being run over by the All Blacks bench in the final quarter.
“They’re just relentless and they keep coming at you,” Wales coach Warren Gatland said.
“We have to have a mindset to keep playing for 80 minutes. For those players that are out there at the 60-65 minute mark, they need to keep putting them under pressure.”
They could do that, Roberts said, by hanging onto the ball, shutting down New Zealand’s counter-attack and ensuring that they did not make mistakes inside their own half.
Failure to do so and the All Blacks, who have made two changes to their matchday squad from the Auckland test, should seal the series with the Dunedin match to spare.
Hansen, though, was still hammering home the message that a wounded Welshman is a dangerous Welshman.
“They’re a good team,” he said. “They’re hurting and that’s what makes them dangerous.”
NEW ZEALAND: Israel Dagg; Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty, Waisake Naholo; Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith; Joe Moody, Dane Coles, Owen Franks; Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock; Jerome Kaino, Sam Cane, Kieran Read (captain).
Replacements: Nathan Harris, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett, Seta Tamanivalu
WALES: Rhys Patchell; Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Hallam Amos; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Gethin Jenkins, Ken Owens, Samson Lee; Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones; Ross Moriarty, Sam Warburton (captain), Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Rob Evans, Tomas Francis, Bradley Davies, Ellis Jenkins, Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland, Scott Williams.
Overall record
Played: 31
New Zealand wins: 28
Wales wins: 3
Last five meetings
2016 New Zealand 39 Wales 21 Auckland
2014 Wales 16 New Zealand 34 Cardiff
2012 Wales 10 New Zealand 33 Cardiff
2010 Wales 25 New Zealand 37 Cardiff
2010 New Zealand 29 Wales 10 Hamilton
