Owens expects All Blacks to put in super charged performance to honour comrade Wainui
KEN Owens believes the tragic passing of Maori All Black Sean Wainui will make the “scary” prospect of Wales taking on New Zealand on Saturday all the more difficult.
Wainui, right, was killed in a car crash on October 18 and his death has hit the All Blacks – many of whom knew the former Chiefs and Bay of Plenty back personally – very hard.
Members of Ian Foster’s side were given the option of missing the match against USA last night if they didn’t feel ready to play although the southern hemisphere giants still fielded a strong side.
Their next challenge is at Principality Stadium. Wales hooker Owens believes the All Blacks will be determined to play in memory of Wainui in front of a sold-out Cardiff crowd.
“It was horrendous news that came with Sean’s passing,” said Owens. “All the boys here with Wales are sending our thoughts and condolences to his family and everyone in New Zealand rugby who would have been close to him.
“He’d have had a lot of friends in the New Zealand camp and it will pull them together. They’ll want to put in a performance in his memory. I saw him as a player and he was quality himself.
“One thing New Zealand have always got is a quality of player and strength in depth. They took a bit of criticism last year and it’s taken a bit of time for their new coaching staff to come in and impose themselves, but they’ve been very impressive through the summer.
“I think they’ll have been disappointed to lose that one game to South Africa, but they’ve managed to rest some players and have some rotation as well. I know they’re not No.1 in the world rankings and South Africa have that,
but they’re a quality side and the strength in depth they have across the board is scary at times.”
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac is beset by injuries and player unavailability for the New Zealand game and the chances of his team beating the All Blacks for the first time since 1953 are slim.
The match falls outside World Rugby’s Test window meaning Wales’ Englishbased players Dan Biggar, Taulupe Faletau, Louis Rees-Zammit, Nick Tompkins, Callum Sheedy, Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza won’t be released by their clubs.
George North, Liam Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi, James Botham, Leon Brown and Josh Macleod are all out injured too.
“New Zealand are a quality side, but so are we. When you’re playing a team like them, you have to believe you can get the win,” said the experienced 34-year-old hooker Owens.
“It’s about being in the game for 80 minutes and not switching off. You have to be on the money because they enjoy turnover ball and attack from anywhere.
“Injuries happen and we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. The way to look at it is in a positive way and it’s an opportunity for players to put their hands up.
“The only thing we can focus on as players is to be excited by the challenge. We’re not just here to make up the numbers this autumn. We need to get back on the horse after the Six Nations –we were disappointed to lose the last game to France. It's all about getting the performance right and winning matches.”