Here are your rugby morning headlines for Tuesday, November 1.
Rees-Zammit excited for first All Blacks clash
Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit is excited to finally face the All Blacks as he heads into the autumn campaign in blistering form.
The 19-cap youngster had his first real test at international level when Wayne Pivac left him out of the side to face England in this year's Six Nations. However, since then, Rees-Zammit has produced some of his best rugby - combining the eye-catching pieces of magic in attack with improvements in his all-round game.
READ MORE: The astonishing Wales rebirth of Rhys Priestland
Now, he's ready to transfer that form back onto the Test stage, with New Zealand waiting this Saturday in Cardiff.
“I have been trying to work on my defence a lot more, and it is kind of paying off,” he told PA Sport. “I always back myself in attack, whenever I get the ball, whether it is in space or not.
“It is all about working in the week and getting myself ready for the game on the weekend. Preparation is huge. Test rugby is very difficult, very demanding. Repeatability is huge.
“There are so many kicks going on, so many kick-chases, you have just got to prepare yourself in the week and hopefully the rewards will come on the weekend.
“I have never faced them (New Zealand), and I cannot wait. They are one of the only teams I haven’t played against at the minute, and watching them doing the Haka against other teams, I just want to see it in real life.
“I missed the game last year as it was out of the international window. It was frustrating, but hopefully I get the chance this year and we put on a good performance.”
Barrett eyes battle with former team-mate Anscombe
Beauden Barrett is relishing a battle with former New Zealand U20s team-mate Gareth Anscombe when the All Blacks face Wales this weekend.
Barrett is in line to return to the All Blacks side, having missed the trip to Japan for compassionate reasons, and is expecting Anscombe - who won the Junior World Championship in 2011 in Italy alongside Barrett - to also feature in Cardiff this Saturday. Anscombe hasn't played for a number of weeks after injuring his ribs playing for the Ospreys, but is expected to be fit for this weekend.
"I pay a lot of attention and Gareth has done well since he's been over here," said Barrett. "It's great that he's fit and injury free.
"I'd expect Gareth to play. He's a very good player. I'm well aware of his strengths. I haven't put too much time into thinking who will start, but he's one who stands out for me.
"It happens every now and then. I was lucky to play with Gareth in the U20s a few years ago when we won in Italy. He's a great guy and he's a confident fella too so he'll be backing himself on Saturday and I look forward to hopefully playing against him."
Savea: Playing in Wales is 'bloody hard and tough'
All Blacks back-row Ardie Savea expects a big challenge against a Wales team he has branded "bloody hard and tough".
Wales took a hammering at the Principality Stadium last year and Savea expects to see a reaction from the Welsh this Saturday.
"After the year we've had, we want to stamp the foot down and be able to put in consistent performances and be proud of that," he said.
"We take a lot of confidence out of the back end of the Rugby Championship. We don't want to take a step backwards and start over again. We want to start where we finished off in the Championship.
"We got the win in Japan, but this is a new week and today was a new day. For us, it's just about tightening the screws and what we need to do to get a quality performance.
"Playing here is bloody hard and tough - the atmosphere, the Welsh side, what happened last year.
"We know they'll be bottling that all up and wanting to come and smack us, so for us it's about building that knot in the gut through the week so we come and we're ready."
All Blacks confirm new captain
Sam Whitelock will be New Zealand’s replacement captain for the rest of the team’s Northern Hemisphere tour.
All Blacks forward coach Jason Ryan confirmed that the second-row would take over from Sam Cane, who has been forced to withdraw from the squad after suffering a broken cheekbone.
Cane incurred two small facial fractures in their 38-31 victory over Japan in Tokyo this past weekend and had to return to New Zealand while the rest of the squad travelled to Cardiff.
“Sam Whitelock will captain the All Blacks for this northern tour and Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett will be vice captains,” said Ryan on Monday.
“Sam is really experienced and respected in the group. He’s played 100-plus test matches and experienced a lot so he’s the right man for the job.
“It was pretty straightforward and really well supported by the vice-captains.”
Dragons can make history in South Africa
Sam Davies says the resurgent Dragons would love to be the first Welsh team to claim a victory out in South Africa in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
The four regions lost all eight games in the Rainbow Nation during last season’s inaugural BKT URC campaign and they now head out there en masse at the end of November for back-to-back fixtures. For the Dragons, that means matches against the Lions in Johannesburg and the Stormers in Cape Town.
They will make the trip in good spirits having already recorded more league victories in their opening seven matches than they did all last season. Their 47-7 demolition of Zebre at Rodney Parade was their third triumph so far this term, following up home successes against Munster and the Ospreys. So could they break the Welsh duck when they travel to South Africa?
“We are in the best possible place to do so,” declared fly-half Davies. “It is a tough place to go, no Welsh region has gone out there and won yet. We would love to be the first team to do that.
“It’s going to be hard work and we understand that. But, for us, it’s just about making sure we get better week on week. It’s been a good first block, but we can’t rest now. It’s about backing it up. There’s still a large part of the season to go.”
The Dragons’ rise has come under the tutelage of head coach Dai Flanagan who joined from the Scarlets in the summer. “Dai has just given us a bit more freedom,” explained Davies. “He has come in and got his attacking philosophy going with us. He understands what this group needs and that’s what is getting the most out of us at the moment.
“You will see us playing some good rugby, but most of the time it’s in the right areas of the field. Our set-piece is streets ahead of where it was last year and that gives us a foundation to play off and that’s massive in rugby.
“You look at our lineout drive, we are stealing opposition ball, we are getting penalties off our scrum. We are starting to change the perception of referees and that’s credit to our forward pack, giving us the platform to play off. We are also taking our opportunities a lot more now.
“We have got boys stepping up and performing when our internationals are away. There’s depth building here, which is massive for us. It’s a privilege to be part of such a good group.”
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Mike Phillips' fears for Welsh rugby as he reveals what he feels must be done to stop the rot
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Louis Rees-Zammit 'destined for greatness' as he blows everyone away on eve of Wales v All Blacks
