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The world champion All Blacks arrived in Tokyo on Monday for their first Test match against the Brave Blossoms on Japanese soil and vowed to take nothing for granted.
“It’s important that we start the tour well,” five-eighth Dan Carter said at Narita airport before Saturday’s game at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo.
“We’ve got some really important games away from home so we have to make sure we continue the momentum that we have built throughout the season and play well,” he told Kyodo news agency.
The match against the Braves will be the first of four games the All Blacks will play in their northern hemisphere tour.
Coach Steve Hansen opted to send eight players directly to Europe to prepare for the France Test on November 9.
The full squad will also take on England on November 16 and Ireland eight days later.
Aaron Cruden, who led New Zealand to the junior world championship in Tokyo back in 2009, will join the squad later in the week for some promotional work before flying to France.
But there are still plenty of big names and World Cup winners in the 27-man squad, including Carter and captain Richie McCaw.
Carter said the All Blacks would not underestimate Japan despite their lowly No.15 ranking.
“I think Japanese rugby is on a high at the moment, the club competition is very strong and they had a couple of great Test matches against Wales.
“You know, they beat Wales in the last Test match so we have to make sure we do our homework on the Japan side so we can play well on Saturday.”
Since former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones took over the Brave Blossoms in April last year, Japan have beaten Georgia and Romania, their first Test wins in Europe outside of a Rugby World Cup.
In June, they upset an under strength Wales at home.
But Jones has been in hospital since a stroke two weeks ago, leaving his technical adviser and former Wallabies skills coach Scott Wisemantel in charge.
The All Blacks have faced Japan twice – at the 1995 and 2011 World Cups. Japan lost both encounters, including a 145-17 drubbing in 1995.
The All Blacks last visited Japan in 2009 for a Bledisloe Cup match against Australia, which they won 32-19.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.