All Blacks Coach Graham Henry and his Assistant Coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have named their team to play Wales in the second Test and Final ever Test at Carisbrook, Dunedin, on Saturday 19 June.

The team features one change to the starting XV and three changes on the bench from the side that beat Ireland 66-28 in New Plymouth last weekend.

Flanker Victor Vito, who made his debut off the bench last week, starts at blindside flanker, while in the reserves, 61-Test veteran Tony Woodcock returns together with flanker Adam Thomson in the forwards and Richard Kahui returns from injury to cover the outside backs.

All Blacks Coach Graham Henry said: “We were happy with the win over Ireland but also know that there are areas of our game we need to work on ahead of the Welsh Test and that is our focus this week. We are expecting real intensity and physicality this weekend, which has been the hallmark of All Blacks-Wales matches in recent years.”

The All Blacks and Wales will also be marking the Final Test at Carisbrook on Saturday in front of a sold out 28,000-capacity crowd, with international rugby moving next year to the under-construction, indoor Forsyth Barr Stadium near Otago University.

“Carisbrook is an iconic ground that has hosted some marvellous rugby games over the years. It will be a special occasion and the All Blacks are delighted to be part of the celebrations to mark the final Test at the Brook,” Henry added.

The All Blacks and Wales have played 25 Tests since 1905, with 22 wins to the All Blacks. The All Blacks last played Wales on last year’s end of year tour winning 19-12 in Cardiff. The last match between the two sides in New Zealand was in Hamilton in 2003, which the All Blacks won 55-3.

All Blacks Starting XV:

1. Ben Franks (1),2. Keven Mealamu (72),3. Owen Franks (10),4. Brad Thorn (38),5. Anthony Boric (14),6. Victor Vito (1 ),7. Richie McCaw – captain (81),8. Kieran Read (17),9. Jimmy Cowan (34),10. Daniel Carter (67),11. Josevata Rokocoko (61),12. Benson Stanley (1),13. Conrad Smith (34),14. Cory Jane (13),15. Israel Dagg (1)

Reserves:16. Aled de Malmanche (3),17. Tony Woodcock (61),18. Sam Whitelock (1),19. Adam Thomson (15) ,20. Piri Weepu (35),21. Aaron Cruden (1),22. Richard Kahui (8)

Number of Test caps in brackets

One Response to All Blacks change 1 for Wales

Users Online

Total 41 users including 0 member, 41 guests, 0 bot online

Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm