FULL TIME - The All Blacks run on 39-21 on the back of a strong second half showing. Highlights up now!
80 min - TRY ALL BLACKS! Nathan Harris will cap off the win for the All Blacks as he finishes from close range. The reserve hooker hung the ball on his finger tips before diving over. He's delighted with himself.
78 min - The Welsh have one last crack at the line, but the All Blacks stand strong. It's been a great second half showing on defence for the All Blacks. Into the final minutes now...
73 min - The Welsh are looking puffed. I don't think they have enough in them to mount a comeback in the final minutes. The mood has completely changed at Eden Park in the second half and the crowd is even grooving to a bit of Darude - Sandstorm.
72 min - NO TRY! Wayne Barnes overrules the TMO and takes a try away from TJ Perenara. The All Blacks had broken clean through, but Cruden's last pass to Perenara is deemed forward. The TMO says it came out of his hands backwards, but after demanding to see the replay twice, Barnes rules a forward pass.
68 min - TRY ALL BLACKS! The captain is over! Tuipulotu's pass puts Read into space and he runs through Anscombe on his way to the line. All Blacks are hitting their stride now as the bench stamps a mark on the game. 32-21.
65 min - A familiar face in Gareth Anscombe has entered the match. He's called into action immediately as Cruden drops a kick in for Naholo to chase, and the former Chiefs and Blues man sweeps across from fullback and does just enough, albeit knocking it on in the process, to stop the All Blacks winger getting hands on it.
62 min - TRY ALL BLACKS! The All Blacks win a penalty 5m out and Aaron Smith decides to tap and go quickly. He gives it to Naholo and lets the big man bulldoze his way to the line. He launches himself like a bullet out of a gun and two Wales players can't manage to stop him that close to the line. Biggar almost flipped over backwards in the tackle. All Blacks lead 25-21.
57 min - Ardie Savea is on for his debut. It was a bad night for one Savea, can this brother have a better one?
55 min - Patrick Tuipulotu is up off the bench and makes an immediate impact as he wins a Welsh lineout. The All Blacks go on to eventually win a penalty and Cruden (3 of 5) will have a chance to pull New Zealand level from 45-odd meters out on the angle. His goalkicking is certainly in the spotlight now...and he comes up well short. You could tell it wouldn't have the legs and it arced up into the sky and dropped about 5m short of the line.
Kieran Read contests a kick off (Photosport)
51 min - All Blacks give away another penalty as Aaron Smith reaches in from an offside position. Biggar restores the lead 21-18.
49 min - Romano might have just gifted the Welsh the chance to take the lead back as he drags down his opposite number during the lineout... Biggar will have the distance, but he pushes his effort wide and it remains 18-18.
47 min - CHANCE! Fekitoa has a sniff for the line, but Webb shows great tackle technique to hang on and drag him down. The referee was playing penalty advantage, which he'll come back to as Davies intercepts a pass. Cruden ties the game back up with the boot 18-18.
45 min - Cruden attempts another crossfield kick for Naholo and he can't manage to hold onto it. A loud groan rings out around Eden Park as the crowd starts to get a little bit testy.
43 min - Early second half change as Beauden Barrett makes his way onto the field for Julian Savea...We've got a set play right now so we'll see where he lines up...and he's gone to full back. Ben Smith to the wing, Naholo over from the right wing to the left.
42 min - Wayne Barnes calls a halt to play after seeing two Wales players collide. Alun Wyn Jones was bounced by one of his fellow players and his head hit the ground pretty hard. He'll be okay, but the referee wanted to play it safe as Jones' violently fell back.
41 min - What kind of response can we expect from the All Blacks? Biggar gets things restarted.
HALF TIME - So who predicted Wales to be leading at halftime? The visitors head to the sheds up 18-15 in a compelling contest.
39 min - Wales are searching for a way through the All Blacks wall. Hallam Amos attempts to get around Naholo, but he puts a foot in touch as he tries to offload. The All Blacks hold off any late first half scoring from the Welsh.
37 min - CHANCE! Wales slowly work their way into the All Blacks 22m line before Biggar chips in a short kick for Jonathan Davies. Aaron Smith gets their first, but he loses the handle and Cruden has to scramble back to ground the ball in goal. It'll be a Wales 5m scrum.
Ryan Crotty attempts to bring down Liam Williams (Photosport)
33 min - The All Blacks certainly haven't seen things go their own way as Wales have been collectively getting in their faces repeatedly and the men in back have already turned it over 12 times. Anyone feeling a few nerves creep in yet?
31 min - TRY WALES! The All Blacks blow seven at one end and Wales make them pay. It's that man Liam Williams who cuts the All Blacks up the middle like a hot knife through butter. He even shakes his way past Brodie Retallick before finding Rhys Webb and the halfback manages to see off Naholo and bundle his way over the line. The Welsh snatch the lead back 18-15.
28 min - CHANCE! Naholo again takes advantage of being given too much space on the wing and manages to round his man. He's got Smith and Cruden in support, but decides to go alone and knocks it on! If he released the ball it was surely going to be a try. Naholo's already gained 78m will ball in hand tonight, but he definitely needed to pass then.
24 min - Liam Williams is proving to be the danger man as he jumps in at first receiver from the ruck and breaks the line. He's got Ben Smith left in front of him, and opts to kick it past him. Smith sticks out a leg and manages to deflect it and stop the threat. It was the wrong decision from Williams, he had a teammate steaming up on the outside of him but went for the miracle kick. Anyway, Coles scooped up the ball from an offside position and Biggar will have another shot at goal...which he nails and it's 15-11.
Luke Romano on the burst (Photosport)
20 min - All Blacks are caught offside and Dan Biggar slots a penalty to close the gap back to 15-8.
18 min - TRY ALL BLACKS! Woah! Smith takes a high ball under pressure and then pins the ears back and takes off up the middle. He's away and finds Cruden who in turn flicks it on to Naholo. He won't be caught and the All Blacks have scored two tries in three minutes. It's a fantastic try, a classic counter attack, and the All Blacks lead 15-5.
Julian Savea scores (Photosport)
15 min - TRY ALL BLACKS! Cruden has a quick look and puts up a bomb for the corner and Julian Savea jumps up unmarked and fights his way though a player to ground the ball. A classic Backstreet Boys song blasts over the PA system to celebrate the try which begs the question if players can choose their own try music? Anyway, I'm getting distracted. Cruden can't convert the kick (he's 1-3 with the boot already) and it's 8-5.
14 min - Naholo makes amend for his error as he shows a clean pair of heels and takes off down the wing before finding Fekitoa. The All Blacks are into the Welsh 22 and look threatening as Wales try and scramble back.
11 min - Waisake Naholo drops a low pass in his own half and the All Blacks look a little rattled in the early stages. Wales will pack down a scrum in the middle of the field about 30m out from the sticks. An obstruction is called on the try scorer Faletau two phases later and the attack fizzles out before it gets going.
9 min - TRY WALES! The visitors shift the ball swiftly out to the other wing and Taulupe Faletau is over in the corner! The Welsh make the most of a Ben Smith mistake and grab a 5-3 lead.
8 min - Ben Smith coughs up his first high ball test of the evening and the Welsh are on the attack. Williams is up from fullback and manages to squeeze his way down the touchline.
5 min - Another penalty to the All Blacks, this time it's straight in front. Cruden will tee up another effort and this one is right down the middle. The All Blacks cap early pressure with some points. 3-0.
3 min - CHANCE! It comes back out to Cruden who drops a kick in behind the Welsh line and Liam Williams is able to scramble back and dot the ball down in goal ahead of Read. He cops a knee in his back for his troubles, but he'll shake it off and carry on.
2 min - And Cruden slams his penalty into the post! The All Blacks react fastest and grab the rebound and are straight on the attack.
1 min - Julian Savea beats a player with his first touch of the ball as he steps off the right foot and half breaks the line. Early hands in the ruck from the Welsh and the All Blacks will have a shot at goal just a minute into the contest.
KICK-OFF - Aaron Cruden gets us underway here at Eden Park.
7:33 pm - Who ever had Aaron Smith in the All Blacks Haka sweepstakes is the winner. Read stands at the front of the pyramid and Smith calls it from the back.
7:30 pm - Both teams make their way out on to the Eden Park pitch and line up for the national anthems. Moments away from kick-off here, but first we'll find out who is going to lead the All Blacks Haka.
Newshub Rugby reporter Ross Karl has been in and around both camps in the lead up to this match, and he's noticed a distinct difference between the All Blacks and Wales.
"No matter who is talking, you never got the feeling Wales truly believe they have what it takes to beat the All Blacks. It's more, 'we'll give it our best shot'."
Read his full blog here
We put out a poll on our Twitter account earlier this afternoon, and here are the final results.
A majority of All Blacks chat has been about the amount of experience they've lost, but don't forget about the man at the back, warns Waisake Naholo.
Fullback Ben Smith has 49 Test caps, and Naholo says his Highlanders teammate is extremely helpful as directing his fellow backs on the field.
7:10 pm - It's good news in the weather department as it looks like we'll have a clear night for running rugby. A couple of showers have passed over Auckland during the day, but it's unlikely to return during tonight's Test.
7:01 pm - Test match fever is upon us again as the All Blacks return to the field against Wales 223 days since lifting the Rugby World Cup. Kick off is at 7:35pm but we'll have plenty of preview in the mean time.
Before we look forward to a new era for the All Blacks with Kieran Read at the helm, let's first look back at the last time these two met. Beauden Barrett, who started in the No.10, scored two tries as the All Blacks ran out 34-16 in November 2014.
NEW ZEALAND: Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo, Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty, Julian Savea, Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read (capt), Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Brodie Retallick, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Joe Moody. Reserves: Nathan Harris, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett, Seta Tamanivalu.
WALES: Liam Williams, George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Hallam Amos, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton (capt), Ross Moriarty, Alun Wyn Jones, Bradley Davies, Samson Lee, Ken Owens, Gethin Jenkins. Reserves: Scott Baldwin, Rob Evans, Tomas Francis, Jake Ball, Ellis Jenkins, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Scott Williams.
Head to Head: All Blacks 27, Wales 3
Odds: All Blacks $1.07, Wales $7.50 (Point start: NZ -17.5)
Last clash: All Blacks 34 Wales 16, at Millennium Stadium, November 22, 2014
The All Blacks have their first outing since retaining the World Cup and the departure of a clutch of experienced campaigners, including all-time greats Richie McCaw and Dan Carter. Wales have been boosted by the return from injury of skipper Sam Warburton, but will have history firmly against them - their last win over New Zealand was in 1953.
Keys: The Welsh can be expected to use their highly experienced duo of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies to target the opposition midfield and there are likely to be high-ball tests for the All Blacks' back three. But New Zealand's pace of play and finishing power out wide should prove decisive on a ground where they haven't lost since 1994.
Newshub.
