Millenium Stadium, Cardiff
Saturday, November 7
Kick Off 5.15pm
Wales have the formidable task of trying to overturn over 50 years of history, by beating the All Blacks at the Millenium Stadiium. It has been that long since Wales recorded a victory over the Kiwis. Wales coach, New Zealander Warren Gatland, has poked holes in the might of his native country, stating that they have lost four of their last ten games. Six of those games though were in the tri-nations, facing off against South Africa and Australia, the best teams in the world. That is a huge difference to playing nations like Italy and Scotland. The four New Zealand defeats total up as three against South Africa and one against France.
The New Zealanders will be cheered by the news that superstar centre Dan Carter is back fully fit after some injury worries. Carter, one of the world superstars of Rugby Union, is a key player for the All Blacks, and has the ability to win a game on his own. Wales won’t be happy to see him, as Carter alone in just five matches against the Welsh, has scored 92 points. The Kiwis are in Europe for four tests, including France, Italy and England. They will be hoping that they are not too game rusty ahead of the tour, but whenever a Kiwi side
Wales will be missing winger Mark Jones, as it was announced this week that the Llanelli Scarlets captain will not see any action for a good three months after undersigning surgery. One thing that is not on the Welsh side, is the size of their backs. When you line up against a New Zealand outfit, you know that you are going to be faced with a brick wall of black. With neither winger nor full-back scaling the heights of 6 foot, the return of Dan Carter to the All Blacks team is all that more important. Carter can kick the ball and land it on a dime, and he will certainly test the vulnerability that Wales will have aerially at the back.
James Hook will be playing at full-back, not his normal position, and that will make him even more of a target. The strength of Wales will come into play when they start running with the backs, and using their speed to get wide. It is unlikely that they will have the power and skill to take on the Kiwis up front. But the Kiwis can hurt teams from all angles of the pitch, with their running, their kicking and control up front. While it has been a long time since they have won the World Cup, another point Gatland stresses which shows that New Zealand are fallible, the Southern Hemisphere games is still a lot more explosive and dynamic than that of the Northern Hemisphere. There will be a class difference, and it could all be seen in the shirt worn by Dan Carter.
Wales to win: 9/2 at SkyBet
Draw: 28/1 at Paddy Power
New Zealand to win: 1/5 at Coral
Wales: J Hook (Ospreys); L Halfpenny, T Shanklin, J Roberts (all Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), G Cooper; G Jenkins (both Blues), M Rees (Scarlets), P James, AW Jones (both Ospreys), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), A Powell, M Williams (both Blues), R Jones (Ospreys, capt).
Replacements: H Bennett, D Jones, B Davies, D Jones, M Roberts, J Davies, T James.
