Elliott Smith: Newstalk ZB Rugby Commentator previews the All Blacks v Wales clash

A revamped All Blacks side has been tasked with maintaining an almost 72-year unbeaten legacy against Wales on Sunday morning in Cardiff. 

Three players —captain and lock Scott Barrett, flanker Simon Parker and Will Jordan, who shifts to the right wing— remain in the run-on side from last week's loss to England. 

Ardie Savea and Codie Taylor are among the players rested...along with Cam Roigard and Beauden Barrett. 

Newstalk ZB Rugby Commentator Elliott Smith told Mike Hosking much like the bronze medal match at the Rugby World Cup, no one really wants to play it. 

He says it feels more like a box ticking exercise, but they’ve got to get through it, come home with a win, and then face what comes over the course of the summer. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the year has gone out of the room on
the All Blacks. Of course Wales this week. Does anyone care?
Elliott Smith as well as Elliot Morning Mike. If I
could tell you port your home, would you come home
right now?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah? I think I think that would be a fair
idea and I think that probably the All Blacks would
probably take it as well. It feels like a Test
match that they've got to tick a box, you've got
to get through. But it's very much like a bronze
medal match at a Rugby World Cup. To an extent,
no one really wants to play it. Well, the All
Blacks certainly don't want to play it with no Grand
Slam on the line, but they've got to get through it.

(00:31):
They've got to tick a box, they've got to come
home with a win and then face wad that comes
over the course of the summer.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
How am i the organization, the juguling? Why didn't they
make Wales first, Ireland last? Get a bit of hype
around this thing? Who wants it? I mean, no matter
what happened, I mean beating Wales, who cares well?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
It's all controlled by the Six Nations, So I don't
think the All blacks or in New Zealand Rugby get
a great deal of say in it. And obviously you've
got all the other teams part of it around the
globe as well, converging on them. So it's all about
you know, various broadcasts, deals and things like that. So
New Zealand Ruby wouldn't have had a great saying it.
But I agree finishing, you know, with a perhaps a
stronger test might have lived the year in the balloon,

(01:09):
as you said before.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Exactly more importantly for me, Elliott, how are your putdums going?
I mean, have you seen the value of the dollar?

Speaker 2 (01:16):
For God's sake? It is? It's not great, is it? Mike?

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:20):
I mean what's a.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Toast of sandwich costing you?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Well, it's about six pounds in the UK, so I
think it's about what eighteen nineteen dollars? You're two and
a half two and a half roughly just under two more? Good?

Speaker 1 (01:33):
No, it's not good. Do you want some more monage
to Jason Restaurant? Less?

Speaker 2 (01:37):
You gave me as well?

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Well? Exactly have you been to any Christmas shops yet?
I saw a video the other day of Selfridge's Christmas shop.
It's so beautiful. Does it feel festive?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
It does, and that's the wonderful part of here this
year is that you can you can feel it. There's
the card of Christmas Market and there's not much really
going on otherwise in Cardiff, so they've got to get
the Christmas cheer out more than a month before Christmas,
so the lights are out. You know, there's a festive
feeling because you know you've got to make the most
of the month because ones that hits December twenty six,

(02:06):
it's all downhill, to be quite.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Only that is true. So the All Blacks by what
eighteen twenty two, twenty one a.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Lot thirty thirty I'll say thirty.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Mike, Okay, well done, well done, Elliott Elliott Smith, who's
calling the game for us in the early hours of
a Sunday morning.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
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