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If one was to only judge the two sides from the talk coming from the respective camps, one would think that it was Wales who were sitting on a 20-match winning streak.
It has been endless, with Coach Warren Gatland, right down to the young Cardiff winger Leigh Halfpenny, all claiming that the All Blacks aura has gone. Not only that, but Wales had moved on and are stronger, while New Zealand is there for the taking.
The All Blacks, as has become their modus operandi, have said nothing of note, and will do their talking on the field.
It is sometimes almost eerie how they arrive in a country and never give the opposition anything to be motivated by, except the chance to post what in Wales’ case has now become a very rare thing indeed.
But of course it wasn’t always like this.
In 1905, the All Black Originals toured Europe and North America and won 34 from 35 matches. They would lose only once, to Wales at Cardiff Arms Park 3-0.
While New Zealand would win 19-0 in Swansea in 1925, Wales would win 13-12 in 1924, and again in 1953 by 13-8.
As the All Blacks were building their legacy, the Red Dragons would be most bemused by the “alleged” reputation of New Zealand. Wales had played them four times and only lost once.
It is doubtful that any side in history would have said this, but in the first half of the 20th century, the Welsh would probably think that playing the All Blacks wasn’t really that hard at all.
In 1963, the All Blacks would arrive at Cardiff Arms Park and beat the Welsh 6-0. From here they would embark on one of the great winning streaks between major test nations.
From 1969 to 1979, one of the supreme teams in rugby history would don Welsh colours, winning eight Six Nations titles. But in this time even the wizards of Wales would lose to New Zealand, with the nadir coming with a 23-3 loss to the All Blacks in 1980.
From 1987 to the present day, the two teams would clash another 13 times. Seven of those matches would be 30-point plus defeats, and nine times the All Blacks would breach 40 points.
With this history in mind, a win for Wales at Millennium Stadium this weekend would be akin to winning a Six Nations Grand Slam.
Their verbal assault on the All Blacks is nothing new. All levels of taunts have been tried against New Zealand in the past, from not calling them “All Blacks” to coaches stating “remember, they are not gods in black jerseys, they are just men.”
The small problem for Wales is that they have done this before.
Last year, they reminded the All Blacks of their last visit to Millennium Stadium (the 2007 World Cup loss to France) and stood wonderfully eyeballing New Zealand after the haka.
Yet despite matching their great antagonists for a half, they wilted in the second.
The best news for Wales now is that they have had the Springboks reveal a blueprint for beating the All Blacks. It is simple, uncompromising and (if you believe some media) boring.
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