Wales have not beaten New Zealand since December 1953, and captain Dewi Lake admits most of that run came long before his time.
The All Blacks have won the last 34 meetings. Lake said: “I don’t think that I was alive for half of them.”
The former Ospreys hooker leads Wales out at the Principality Stadium this afternoon (2.10pm), and says the history is not lost on the squad.
He said: “For us, it’s a test match against the All Blacks. We do understand the history, and it’s an incredible opportunity for us to be able to play such a historic team.”
Three wins, the last in 1953
Wales have beaten New Zealand three times in 38 Tests: 3-0 in 1905, 13-12 in 1935 and 13-8 in Cardiff on 19 December 1953.
The closest they have come since was a 26-25 defeat in Cardiff in 2004. The All Blacks have won their last 14 Tests in the city, a run going back to 1989.
Lake wants his side thinking about their own game. He said: “But for us, we’re thinking about us; we’re thinking about the opportunities that we have, the chances that we have, and that we know what we can do if we get our performance right.”
‘Back into the top eight’
He also has his eye on the world rankings, and said: “We want to push up that, up the table, up the rankings table. So we want to get back into the top eight.”
He added: “You’re looking at two teams that are sitting in there. So for us, it’s an opportunity to see how we measure up.”
Lake said the squad has “full belief”, and added: “So for us, it’s about going out and showing that.”
‘We just hear the crowd erupting’
Scarlets full-back Blair Murray faced the All Blacks for the first time in last year’s 52-26 defeat, and called it “such an unbelievable experience”.
He believes Wales can cause an upset, and said: “We can do something special. It’s awesome.”
Murray wants the crowd to play its part, and pointed to the opening minute against Japan, when Louis Rees-Zammit broke from deep.
He said: “We just hear the crowd erupting. It just gives us so much energy.”
He added: “We have to be the best we can be for a whole 80 minutes. So yeah, the more people we can get in the game, the better it is.”
Unbeaten All Blacks
New Zealand have won four from four in the Nations Championship, after beating Scotland 43-21 at Murrayfield last weekend. They are second in the southern hemisphere pool on 20 points, behind South Africa only on points difference.
Wales are fifth in the northern hemisphere table on 10 points after beating Japan 28-21. A shock win could lift them as high as second.
Former Ospreys lock Adam Beard returns in the second row, with Gabriel Hamer-Webb on the wing, in one of four changes from the Japan win.
The game is live on ITV and S4C.
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