Okay, if you’re only as good as your last game, then they are not that good, having lost 33-19 to England at Twickenham last week.
But they are still the second-ranked team in the world, they have won nine of the last 13 versions of the Rugby Championship, and they would probably have won the last World Cup two years ago, but for a very dubious TMO call in the final against the Springboks.
When it comes to playing Wales, though, standards – or, at least, outcomes – have not slipped.
New Zealand have not lost to Wales for 72 years, a sequence of 33 victories.
Ospreys head coach Mark Jones spent two seasons as defence coach with the Crusaders in Canterbury before returning to the UK four years ago.
He thinks there are various factors that make a country with a population of only five million so formidable at rugby, but gives two compelling reasons.
One is illustrated by his experience with All Blacks legend Sam Whitelock and the other came from observing the wider cultural environment his two young sons - Caleb and Isaac – enjoyed in Christchurch.
Jones worked with Whitelock for a season at the Crusaders and says of the former All Blacks skipper, who earned 153 caps, “His humility was incredible.
“Sam came back from Japan to New Zealand early, because of Covid, and I got the opportunity to work with him.
“He was terrific in wanting to know how I could help him. He was 31 at the time, he had been an All Black for years, and yet he was keen to use me to help him become a better rugby player.
READ MORE: Welsh Rugby War Casualties Don’t Yet Include Players, Claims Steve Tandy
“That sums up the psyche of the All Blacks. It doesn’t matter if you have one cap or 100 caps, they are obsessed with getting better.
“He challenged me and said: ‘I want to get better at one-on-one tackling with outside backs.’
“He felt he could defend pretty well in the line, but he wanted to use his long legs to enable him to close down space further out wide.
“So, we did some drills after training to do that. He wanted to get better and pick my knowledge.”
Jones reckons Whitelock typifies the attitude which keeps the Kiwis at the top end of the global game.
He also worked with a host of other big names at the Crusaders, including Codie Taylor, Brodie Retallick, Ardie Savea, Richie Mo’unga, Anton Lienert-Brown and Sevu Reece.
The All Blacks’ way of thinking – creative and adaptive on the field – was not simply a product of a consistent, joined-up rugby structure, but an educational system that made a deep impression on Jones and his teacher wife, Helen.
“At the Crusaders and the Canterbury region, everything seemed so aligned. I’m sure there may have been politics going on in the background, but everything is linked and consistent.
“The teams are coached in a similar way, the teams play in a similar way and as a result the players think alike. When they come together, they gel really easily, whether as Canterbury, the Crusaders, or as the All Blacks.
The fundamental underpinning is that alignment.
“But the other fact is in the New Zealand education system, which is incredible. It’s a multi-sport approach, with a backing and focus and so they produce amazing athletes at school level in so many sports.
“Basketball is huge, netball also, athletics, football. Then, they all come together around rugby. It’s a sporting nation.
“It’s a big part of the daily curriculum. Outdoor areas are available to everyone. Nothing appears fenced off or guarded by CCTV cameras.
“In many ways their society is a throwback to the access we used have here, where your grandmother would call you in after you’d been out playing for hours with your mates.
“They have a saying in the classrooms. ‘Ask three, before me.’
“In other words, see if you can collaborate and solve problems yourselves before asking the teacher.
“That’s what All Blacks players do. They solve problems together out on the pitch.”
The All Blacks are a problem Wales have not solved since 1953.
England, South Africa, Australia, France, Ireland and Argentina have all managed it – nations that have all fallen at the feet of the Dragonhood in recent years – but not Wales.
The granular facts are even more stark for anyone hoping Wales can win their third match of 2025 on Saturday.
Since losing to Wales in 1953, New Zealand have scored a total of 156 tries against Wales in those 33 games.
That’s close to an average of five tries per game.
Since fixtures began in 1905, Wales have only twice stopped the All Blacks scoring a try - in 1905 and the 6-0 defeat of 1963.
The Kiwis have stopped Wales crossing their line 15 times.
A Shane Williams-inspired Wales against the All Blacks at the 2003 World Cup is often mentioned by some as a close encounter, but it was only fleetingly that Wales were ahead and the eventual scoreline was 53-37 and eight tries to four.
A much closer match occurred a year later in 2004, when Colin Charvis outplayed Richie McCaw, but somehow, despite being the better team, Mike Ruddock’s side lost by a single point, 26-25.
It’s unlikely to be as close this time – a fact Steve Tandy knows and one he perhaps acknowledged earlier this week when he was asked what he was looking for from this match.
“To win more aerial battles,” replied the Wales coach, which sounded like a football manager claiming measurable progress against Manchester City would be to do better from throw-ins.
Last week, Wales reacted with a good deal of enthusiasm after a last-minute, one-point win over Japan.
If Wales have averaged five tries conceded in every game against the All Blacks for over 70 years, then perhaps keeping them to just four will be another cause for celebration.
🏉 Wales vs New Zealand — Match Factfile
📍 Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
📅 Date: Saturday 22 November 2025
⏰ Kick-off: 3.10pm (UK time)
📺 Live on: TNT Sports & S4C
💥 Headline
Wales face the All Blacks in Cardiff as Steve Tandy’s side aim to back up their narrow win over Japan with their first victory over New Zealand for 72 years.
🧾 Competition
Autumn Quilter Nations Series
🔎 Players to Watch
Wales:Joe Hawkins, Harri Deaves
New Zealand: Damian McKenzie, Simon Parker
💬 Player’s View
"I was a late developer and playing in a tough position, always being called too small, stuff like that. The size of my heart had to take over sometimes and I'd like to say that carries on.” Harri Deaves, who makes his Wales debut.
💷 What’s at Stake
Wales have already secured top 12 ranking for the next World Cup, but they have not beaten New Zealand since 1953.
New Zealand, meanwhile, are looking to recover quickly after their 33-19 defeat to England at Twickenham.
📈 Odds
- Wales: 22/1
- Draw: 40/1
- New Zealand: 1/100
