Assistant coach Jason Ryan on his first visit to Principality Stadium said he was well aware of the ground's reputation. He, the management team and the players were looking forward to the occasion.
Wales would be tough. The All Blacks respected them and knew they prided themselves on their forward play.
They had some good innovations and wanted to play the game quickly.
"We've got to be right on and we're looking forward to the challenge and being here in Cardiff is awesome."
Coming up against the set-piece play preferences of the northern hemisphere sides would be a benchmark for where the All Blacks were at with their pack, and they would need to be up with their Ellis Park performance earlier in the year.
"All the teams bring something different but Wales pride themselves in that area and they'll be tough around the ball so it'll be a good challenge for us."
Looking at the set piece against Japan, Ryan thought there was a combination of new players and a lack of cohesion, while he felt they could have used more variations.
The breakdown would again be contentious across the tour, especially when the conditions were unknown.
"It's a different game, so we're going to have to learn pretty quickly because the reality is the Rugby Championship, and even the Japan Test were hard, fast games. But it is a little bit different over here, fast, but I think the collisions will be fiercer."
Wales had some variations off their lineout platforms and were shifting the ball under good defensive lines and systems.
"We can expect some different pictures I'm sure," he said.
Ryan said while the senior All Blacks hadn't played rugby for about four weeks before the Japan game, they were not using that as an excuse.
They had to be better, especially with the three Tests against Wales, Scotland and England ahead of them.