Cardiff Blues wing Leigh Halfpenny has been praised by Wales head coach Warren Gatland © Getty Images

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Teams New Zealand

Wales boss Warren Gatland has told his European champions ahead of their showdown with New Zealand: "It doesn't matter who you are - you've got to perform."

Grand Slam captain Ryan Jones and record try-scorer Shane Williams were among those players who came under Gatland's selection microscope before he named the same team beaten by world champions South Africa 10 days ago.

The half-back combination proved another hot topic, with Gatland determined to keep his players on their toes as they target a first victory over New Zealand since 1953.

"All the places were up for selection," he said. "There were some positions we debated heavily - wing, nines and 10s, the make-up of the bench and the loose forwards.

"I've spoken to Ryan. In terms of the Canada game last week, we talked about two or three high balls and just a little bit more accuracy. There was no question about his work-rate against South Africa. We were pleased with what he did.

"The message we are sending out is it doesn't matter who you are, you've got to perform. There is no guaranteed selection week in, week out. It's how people respond, isn't it? You want them to respond with a performance, by doing their talking on the field."

Gatland faced a choice of two from three on the wing - Williams, Mark Jones or 19-year-old Cardiff Blues sensation Leigh Halfpenny. And Gatland revealed he had no hesitation throwing Halfpenny into battle against the All Blacks on Saturday, adding: "Given the performances in the first two games, he was the pick of the three wings. He deserved to be selected for this game.

"He scored a couple of great tries against Canada, particularly his first one. He can also kick goals as well, if we need it. He is bringing that youthfulness. He hasn't read too many newspapers or been affected by too much negativity - he hasn't got that fear factor.

"I watched Leigh at under-20 level 12 months ago, and to be honest, I thought he'd never play international rugby because physically I didn't think he was big enough.

"It's great to see what can happen in 12 months in terms of him applying himself and doing the work, and it's great he has had a chance with the Blues. Players in Wales need to see that if they apply themselves and do the work, they can be given a chance to play international rugby.

"Leigh has been scoring tries - that's what he gets paid to do. It would be pretty unfair to drop him on those two performances.

"For the likes of Leigh and (number eight) Andy Powell, who both had impressive debuts against South Africa, our message is the same - both players need to simply enjoy the experience and have nothing to fear.

"For some of the more senior heads in the side, we know we are looking for stand-out performances from each and every one of them if we are to be able to match the opposition."

Gatland, meanwhile, is still hopeful that Ospreys fly-half James Hook will recover in time from a knee injury to line up among the replacements. Hook limped off during the 34-13 victory over Canada last Friday, but he has been bracketed alongside his Ospreys colleague Dan Biggar on the Wales bench.

Two confirmed changes among the replacements see Blues prop John Yapp in for an injured Duncan Jones and Newport Gwent Dragons lock Luke Charteris replacing Ian Gough. Biggar, 19, would be a third switch.

The All Blacks, who have comfortably disposed of Scotland and Ireland this month without conceding a try, can boast 19 successive wins against Wales. And New Zealander Gatland has no doubt what qualities his players must show in their quest to end that dismal sequence.

Gatland said: "There are a number of players in the All Blacks team that either I've coached, or coached against. So you are just trying to give some of our players a little bit of a Kiwi insight in terms of their planning and how they might prepare.

"The thing with the All Blacks - we've been stressing it this week - is from World Cup to World Cup they are easily the best team in the world and very rarely get tested. When they are in front and playing with confidence, there is no-one who can touch them.

"But if you put them under a bit of pressure and the Test match gets into an arm wrestle, that is when you see cracks. We've seen that in World Cups. If you want to beat them, you've got to get them into an arm wrestle and see if you can expose the cracks.

"If you can't do that, then potentially it can be a blow-out against you."

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