Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit says he has rediscovered his swagger. He wants Wales to fight fire with fire against the All Blacks, BBC Sport reported. Steve Tandy's side host New Zealand in the Nations Championship on Saturday at 14:10 GMT.
Wales go into the game after labouring to a 28-21 bonus-point win over Japan at Principality Stadium last weekend. The team failed to convince, but Rees-Zammit stood out. He scored a try, made 12 carries for 121 metres and beat 13 defenders. He was named man of the match. He also made more line breaks against Japan than in the entire Six Nations, when he started every game at full-back.
Rees-Zammit said he felt really confident. He credited the work in training and at his club, Bristol. He said that moving back to the wing helps him create chances and finish tries. "I am just playing with a smile on my face," he said. He is in his second season back in rugby after two years trying to make it in the NFL.
His club form backs that up. According to BBC Sport, he has scored five tries in five games for Bristol. He is second in the Prem for defenders beaten with 28. He is fifth for metres gained with 299 and third for clean breaks with 12.
Wales' record try scorer Shane Williams told the Scrum V podcast that Rees-Zammit looks bigger and sharper than he has for some time. Williams, who scored 58 tries in 91 games for Wales, said the wing "looked the business" against Japan. He added that he was not sure Rees-Zammit could bump off All Blacks defenders the same way.
The task is huge. New Zealand pulled away from Scotland in the second half to win 43-21. Wales have lost 34 straight games to the All Blacks since their 1953 victory. Few expect that streak to end in Cardiff, BBC Sport said.
Rees-Zammit takes heart from last November's meeting. New Zealand won 52-26, but led only 24-21 early in the second half. He said Wales stayed in the game until around the 60th minute and must be brave with the ball. In that game, left wing Tom Rogers became the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick against New Zealand.