All Blacks’ dig at Wales

All BlAcks coach steve Hansen sent a warning ahead of the second Test as Wales left Auckland for a short 80-mile coach journey to Hamilton yesterday.

The tourists play Waikato chiefs tomorrow morning and, following saturday’s defeat at Eden Park, Hansen suggested fatigue from the additional midweek fixture will play into kiwi hands.

Despite naming a secondstring side to face his former club at the FMG stadium, where lock luke charteris will captain the team, Wales coach Warren Gatland could use up to nine players who featured in the series opener.

‘They’ve got a big week, haven’t they, with the hometown game for Warren,’ said Hansen. ‘The second Test will come down to energy levels and that’s difficult at the end of a season — and even more so when you’ve got to play half your squad on Tuesday.

‘I’m pretty pleased we’re not playing on Tuesday. They’re going to have to chance their arm again on saturday, aren’t they? They’re not going to win by kicking penalties and they’ve worked that out. They’ll come and throw the kitchen sink at us.’

But Gatland sees tomorrow’s fixture as an opportunity to blood new talent — a view shared by sir clive Woodward, who criticised England for not arranging additional games in Australia — and has named an entirely different starting XV.

If Wales are to beat the All Blacks for the first time since 1953, they must match New Zealand’s intensity in the last quarter.

Wales outplayed the world champions for an hour at Eden Park but, in their last seven meetings, they have conceded 12 tries and scored just three in the final 20 minutes.

‘It will take them a game to get used to playing at that intensity,’ said skipper sam Warburton. ‘We still think we’ve got a chance in the series.

‘Until it’s definitely taken off the table, the attitude I will always have is that anything is possible.’