Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will become the world's most-capped rugby international, when he leads the home side against the touring All Blacks at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Sunday (NZ time).
Missing up to 20 frontline players, coach Wayne Pivac has struggled to put together a line-up for the clash with New Zealand, but Jones' presence will give the occasion some lustre, as he surpasses the record he currently shares with former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
Even after his team was selected, Pivac has been forced into a late change, with hooker Ken Owens dropping out with a back injury, replaced by Ryan Elias in the No.2 jersey and Kirby Myhill added to the bench.
But despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the sold-out national stadium will host 75,000 fans, as NZ first-five Beauden Barrett also brings up his 100th test.
"We've been low on numbers this week, so it hasn't been the normal preparation in terms of exact numbers to train against each other, so that's been a challenge," admits Pivac.
"The guys are really excited, but they know it's a big task at hand. The reality is we're two years away from a Rugby World Cup and we're building towards that.
"We've got a Six Nations around the corner to defend and try to win that tournament again.
"They know it's a massive challenge ahead. Every young Welsh player, when they’re growing up, wants to play at the Principality in front of 75,000 and if you ask them who they want to play against, New Zealand would be one of the top couple of sides they'd choose.
"With injuries and unavailability, it's another great opportunity for players like Taine Basham and Ben Thomas to come into the group and gain valuable experience. They're going to come away from this test match knowing what it's like to play one of the best teams in the world."
Earlier this week, Pivac lost the services of NZ-born centre Willis Halaholo, who returned a positive COVID test, but his line-up features another notable Kiwi connection, with former Blues and Chiefs first-five Gareth Anscombe named at first-five.
In 2011, Anscombe was topscorer for a New Zealand side that won the U20 World Cup, featuring current All Blacks Sam Cane, TJ Perenara, Brad Weber and Beauden Barrett.
Wales: 1-Wyn Jones, 2-Ryan Elias, 3-Tomas Francis, 4-Adam Beard, 5-Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 6-Ross Moriarty, 7-Taine Basham, 8-Aaron Wainwright, 9-Tomos Williams, 10-Gareth Anscombe, 11-Josh Adams, 12-Johnny Williams, 13-Jonathan Davies, 14-Owen Lane, 15-Johnny McNicholl
Reserves: 16-Kirby Myhill, 17-Rhys Carre, 18-Dillon Lewis, 19-Will Rowlands, 20-Seb Davies, 21-Gareth Davies, 22-Rhys Priestland, 23-Ben Thomas
Join us at 5am Sunday for live updates of the All Blacks v Wales test
