Griffiths calls for concentration

Clive Griffiths believes concentration will be a key ingredient on Saturday when Wales target their first victory over New Zealand for 52 years.

Wales’ defence coach Griffiths has conducted hours of video analysis in assessing what makes the finely-tuned All Blacks rugby machine tick.

And he has had plenty of awe-inspiring rugby to look at, given New Zealand’s 3-0 Test series triumph against the Lions, followed by their Tri-Nations title success.

“You have got to concentrate every minute against them, with and without the ball,” said Griffiths.

“You are at your most vulnerable when you give them the ball. We went 19-13 up against them last year (Wales lost 26-25), but they took the ball away from us from the restart and scored.

“They have been the toughest side to analyse – my eyes are square, having gone through the tapes of the Lions series and the Tri-Nations.

“New Zealand are a quality outfit with their potency and mixed bag of tricks. They have got players who can go outside the game-plan and turn a match.

“New Zealand do work to a basic structure. They have patterns of play, but within it, they have individuals who come outside it and punish you,” he added.

“We have analysed these guys, and we know a lot of personal battles have to be won out there at the weekend.”

Wales captain Gareth Thomas, meanwhile, feels the All Blacks will find a possible Grand Slam tour of Great Britain and Ireland an infinitely tougher assignment than last summer’s Lions Test series.

Thomas captained Clive Woodward’s Lions in the second and third Tests against New Zealand, replacing stricken Irish centre Brian O’Driscoll, and impressed everyone with his enthusiasm and vitality.

He was among the few players to emerge from a miserable tour with their reputation enhanced, and the 31-year-old now has a chance for revenge on an All Blacks outfit which scarcely broke sweat in dismantling Woodward’s flimsy Lions operation.

“The Lions are a completely different concept to playing for your country,” Thomas said.

“The home nations that are going to play against New Zealand this autumn have had many years playing together, and they know each other a lot more than we did as a Lions squad going out there.

“I am sure that when they (New Zealand) come to the end of the tour, they will have found it a lot more difficult than they found the Test series against the Lions.”