Jamie Roberts column: We can improve enough to beat the All Blacks

EXCLUSIVE: I have to raise my game considerably to put Sonny Bill Williams under pressure

Jonathan Davies renews his centre partnership with me today – we know our game inside out (GETTY IMAGES)

There’s no such thing as a mission impossible in rugby. Instilled in us is a genuine mindset we can beat New Zealand today for the first time in 61 years. It’s about self-belief and taking the shackles off against the best side in the world.

South Africa beat them and Scotland ran them close, and I don’t buy the argument that the All Blacks had a B team against the Scots. There’s no question they’re beatable.

But if we do what we did against Fiji, they’ll tear us to shreds. Last week was poor, well below the standards we usually set ourselves. We turned the ball over more than 30 times – usually that’s more like 10 in a match – so such play is totally unacceptable.

From No 1 to 15 we simply did not respect the ball enough while Fiji put us under pressure by focusing on ripping the ball from us out of contact and targeting the ball carrier. The debrief on Monday with Warren Gatland was a very honest one, although he was kind enough to say we could have won by 15 to 20 points had we converted those tries when held up on the Fijian line. Had we done so, the conversations this week might have been a little different.

We kept on dropping the ball – I did that myself a few times – but that’s how rugby happens sometimes. That was a bad day at the office and the message this week has been to put it to bed and move on.

What better way to erase some poor memories and to focus the mind than the prospect of the world’s greatest rugby team at the Millennium Stadium today?

I remember a litany of New Zealand’s backs growing up: Doug Howlett, Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga and Joe Rokocoko... the list goes on.

There’s always been a mystique about the All Blacks and facing them for the first time you can get caught up with that – the haka, the history, all of it really. But this is the fifth time I will have played them and I’ve known what it feels like to beat them, albeit in a Barbarians shirt, back in 2009.

There are misapprehensions about them, however – the idea that they’re solely about running rugby. Of the international sides I’ve faced, they probably kick more than any other, but they kick very cleverly.

They’re so clever that their game evolves over the course of the full 80 minutes. We have to stay one step ahead all the time, vary our defence and keep them guessing. We have the calibre of players to do that and they don’t like being put under pressure or to be left playing on the back foot.

From a personal perspective, I’m up against Sonny Bill Williams. He’s one of the best, if not the best, in the world and I have to raise my game substantially from last week to put him under pressure.

Sonny Bill Williams charges forward for New Zealand

He’s a very talented footballer, he’s so strong, he’s got a great offload and everyone knows his attributes as an athlete – we’ve seen it in union and league, and also in the boxing ring.

But his fellow centre Conrad Smith, for me, is the unsung hero of this New Zealand side. He’s a deceptive runner, he runs great lines, his skill set’s superb and he’s a clever footballer. I’ve admired him for a long time.

But myself and Jonathan Davies back ourselves against them this weekend. I know people will say it’s a risk to bring Jon back for a game like this when he hasn’t played for four weeks but I don’t think for a minute he’ll be off the pace.

Together, we’re the most capped Wales centre partnership in history so we know each other’s game inside out. We know each other defensively very well, which for me is the key, but I also know the potential lines he’ll run best, how he offloads etc. For me personally, it’s great to have Jon back.

I know a lot’s been made of the decision not to start with Liam Williams after how he played against Fiji but it shows how difficult it is to get into this back line.

However, Liam’s is a strong message, which resonates once more this weekend. The back three of Leigh Halfpenny, George North and Alex Cuthbert know they cannot afford a slip-up in this match because of how well Liam’s been playing.

It’s very harsh on Scott Williams not even to be in the match-day squad. It shows the strength in depth of our squad.

A lot’s been said about the World Cup but that’s still 10 months away. This is about the here and now, and we’ve been poring over video analysis to dissect the All Blacks.

In attack, they’re probably the most polished team in the world right now and, in defence, even if they miss a tackle they’ve got this great scrambled defence. Their support lines are fantastic but, in truth, it’s simple rugby done very well.

We need to do the same, to ensure we’re in the fight for that first 60 to 70 minutes to give us the chance to go for the jugular in the dying minutes of the game.

We need to raise our game for Gats, in particular. It’s a big game for him and there’s plenty at stake with Steve Hansen, a former Wales coach himself, in charge of the opposition.

This is the ultimate, the chance to test ourselves against rugby’s trendsetters. But it’s 15 blokes against 15 blokes, and this one’s winnable.