Wales wary of All Blacks tempo ahead of Cardiff clash

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Pivac told The Independent that the All Blacks, his New Zealand countrymen, would be 'a dangerous animal' after their blistering finish to claim the Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship.

 

They may have lost their first Test series, and their first Test on home soil, to Ireland, and been beaten 18-25 by Argentina, but they had turned those results around to beat Argentina 53-3 and Australia twice (39-37 and 40-14).

 

"We have looked at that All Blacks vs Australia game. The pace of the game – it was a different game to what we are playing at the moment.

 

"We've got a hell of an adjustment period in two weeks just to play with the intensity and the speed they play at.

 

"They put 40 points on Australia and 50 points on Argentina. I think since the changes they have made in their backroom staff they've settled on a squad. It looks like a pretty exciting squad to me.

 

"Any team that can put 50 and 40 on those two sides are probably going to be a dangerous animal," he said.

 

Wales has had its issues recently, including losing to Italy in the last round of the Six Nations.

 

However, they turned that around by achieving their first win on South African soil in July.

 

Pivac said he would have liked to play New Zealand in 2020, but Covid prevented that.

 

He said if Wales could go up another gear and achieve a win over the All Blacks, its first since 1953, it would be a significant statement 10 months out from the Rugby World Cup.

 

"We love playing the All Blacks. It's a fantastic game. There will be a sell-out crowd - I have no doubt. And the atmosphere will be like it was pre-Covid, with the bands and all the excitement.

 

"I'm looking forward to it. I know the players are looking forward to it - and it is an opportunity to create history.

 

"We were hell-bent on doing that in South Africa, and we would love to create some history in that [New Zealand] match."

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