McCaw: All Blacks won't drop standards

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is confident the wholesale changes to the team this week will not lead to a drop in standards in the second Test against Wales on Saturday.

Last weekend, following a hard first-half battle which saw them take a 15-9 lead into the break, the All Blacks – and Dan Carter in particular – hit top gear in the second period to out-class the Welsh and claim a 42-9 success at Carisbrook.

While Carter has overcome his tight calf to start in the number 10 position again at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, lock Anthony Boric (cheekbone), full-back Israel Dagg (concussion) and centre Conrad Smith (eye) have all been ruled out, allowing Tom Donnelly, Mils Muliaina and Richard Kahui to make their first international starts of the year.

Donnelly and Muliaina have had very limited rugby in the past few months due to foot and thumb and calf injuries respectively, while Kahui came on in the second half last week and scored the All Blacks’ fifth and final try from the wing.

In all there are seven changes to the starting line-up from last week.

Zac Guildford comes in on the left wing for Joe Rokocoko and the pack is bolstered by the return of veterans Tony Woodcock and Neemia Tialata in the front row and Jerome Kaino on the blindside flank.

Given the accumulated number of international caps the incoming players bring with them is 230, McCaw is expecting nothing less than a repeat of last weekend’s performance.

“There’s a fair bit of experience come back in and that always helps,” said McCaw. “We’ve also got the attitude that we don’t want to drop our standards just because there are changes.

“The way we look at it is that we’ve got to have a performance that’s the same, if not better, and try and do it for 80 minutes. They are going to be a team that’s hurting so they’re going to come out and climb (into us).”

Despite coming to the end of a long season, the Wales players have vowed mental and physical fatigue will be put to one side as they look to produce a performance that earns the respect of their opposition and the New Zealand public following last Saturday’s disappointing second-half slump.

Gaining respect has been the key message Wales coach Warren Gatland, who is from Hamilton, has driven home this week as he prepares his team to run out at the home of his former provincial side, Waikato.

They last time the two teams played in Hamilton Wales were thumped 55-3, conceding eight tries in the process.

But McCaw is adamant the respect for the Welsh is there.

“We definitely respect them. There’s no doubt about that,” McCaw stressed. “It’s always a physical battle. It was only towards the end of that game (at Carisbrook) that we perhaps got on top. We’ve got to make sure we match that from the start.”

Last week’s win was the third successive game New Zealand had kept Wales try-less. The men in red have not kept their line intact against New Zealand since 1963 when the All Blacks won 6-0 at Cardiff Arms Park.

Martyn Williams was the last Welshman to cross the whitewash against New Zealand – in the 45-10 loss in Cardiff in 2006.

“I guess the end of year tours for the past couple of years we’ve had a pretty proud record on defence,” admitted McCaw.

“Defence often sums up the attitude of the team and it was good to keep them try-less last week especially after letting a couple of soft ones in against Ireland.

“It would be nice to carry on like that because usually it means you win games if they don’t cross your line.”