The All Blacks may have won the last 26 games against Wales stretching back to 1953, but Howley doesn’t believe the pressure of that losing streak will inhibit his players in any way when they face the “relentless” world champions in Auckland on Saturday.
There are only three players left alive from the last Wales team to beat the All Blacks – John Gwilliam, Courtenay Meredith and Gareth Griffiths – but all that could change this month if they can catch the new-look New Zealand side on the hop.
It is seven months since the All Blacks last played together, when they beat Australia to retain the World Cup at Twickenham, and gone from their ranks are some of the greatest players to ever have donned their famous jersey.
The loss of 450 caps from the home side in the shape of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, has planted a seed of doubt ahead of this weekend’s first of three Tests and Howley wants his players to take full advantage.
“We are here to try to change history from what has gone before us. That’s our goal,” he said. “When you talk about confidence and self-belief, there is an external perception about where this Welsh team is and an internal one. For us it is about turning the belief and confidence we have and our own internal perception into a bit of a siege mentality.
“That can often benefit teams when you come over to the southern hemisphere because history is against you. We need to change history and by trying to create a siege mentality it will hopefully put us in a good space some time on Saturday and help us to put the All Blacks under pressure on some occasions.
“We are all aware of the fact it is New Zealand’s first game since the World Cup, while we have had several games. Everyone talks about them losing Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, but I’ve never know a transition period in New Zealand rugby.
“I only played against them once, but every All Blacks team I have coached against has been a pretty strong side. They have strength in depth and that is something we admire from afar. But there is an opportunity for us. They have a new captain and that often changes the dynamics of the group.
“When you play against New Zealand you will take every single per cent that might give you an edge. It s a huge, huge challenge, as we all know, but we are looking forward to it.”
The All Blacks will come into the game with question marks over their goalkicking, without lock Sam Whitelock and with the pressure of defending a 36 match unbeaten record at Eden Park that stretches back to 1994.
Kieran Read has taken over the captain’s armband from McCaw and he will be under pressure to deliver at the start of the next cycle leading to the 2019 World Cup. But can Wales catch New Zealand on the hop?
“I’m sure Steve Hansen will be saying the exact opposite to the All Blacks. The England game put us in good shape and when I caught up with Graham Henry in Hong Kong in March he mentioned the fact that we were going to be playing against them,” added Howley.
“It showed the intent in our preparation before coming to New Zealand. We’ve said many times in the past that to not play a game for four or five weeks before coming to New Zealand makes it even tougher. Hopefully, the game at Twickenham will have put us in good shape.
“The numbers were pretty good on the GPS and in terms of the ball in hand and ball in play. The game changed from the one we played in the Six Nations.
“We know it is going to be high octain, high intensity, ball in hand stuff against the All Blacks and hopefully the England game will have helped us get ready for that. Our concentration levels have to be immense.
“It is a different game in the southern hemisphere compared to the north in terms of the intensity of the game, the ball in play time and the numbers in the contact area. It is something we are very aware of and was one of the main reasons for having the England game.
“The speed and intensity with which they play asks questions of the skill-set and the mind-set and that’s an aspect that we have been working on over the last two weeks. New Zealand set the standard in world rugby and the one word that comes to mind is relentless.
“With and without the ball they are relentless. That’s our challenge and our goal and we will certainly look forward to it and to embracing it.
“We’ve tried to evolve our game over the Six Nations, but it takes time. We were the top try scorers and you could see by the number of passes we made that our skill set under pressure is improving.
“That is vital in the modern game and is something we are continually working on. It is something we are very mindful of and hopefully we will see not just glimpses of, but quite a lot of on Saturday.
“To play the World Cup champions in their own backyard, and at a stadium where they haven’t been beaten since 1994, is something to look forward to. As coaches and players we look forward to the challenge and we have to get ourselves mentally right for the opportunity that is given to us on Saturday.
“From a preparation perspective that’s what the game against England was all about. A lot of our players, 14 in fact, hadn’t played for 22 or so days and it was a good hit out that certainly helped us.
“It’s always a wake-up call when you lose an international and our rugby content was probably a little bit undercooked because we had been working hard to get our physical preparation right before hand. As Warren Gatland and Robin McBryde alluded to, it was all about the bigger picture and the big picture starts on Saturday.
“We are all very excited and hopefully we can have a good training week this week. The players can’t wait for Saturday to come.”
