The changes Tandy needs to make for Wales to compete with the All Blacks

WALES face one of the toughest tasks in the game this weekend when they take on an angry New Zealand side who saw their grand slam hopes go up in flames against England at the Allianz Stadium.

- By STEFFAN THOMAS

Steve Tandy's side got out of jail against Japan with a last-gasp Jarrod Evans penalty sealing a fortuitous 24-23 win.

Wales will be relieved to have secured the first victory of the Tandy era but aware a repeat of the performance put in against Japan will result in a heavy defeat against the All Blacks.

Here the changes Tandy should consider making against New Zealand.

BACK-THREE RESHUFFLE

It is quite possible Josh Adams will get a short ban for his red card in Wales' narrow victory over Japan on Saturday.

Adams saw red when he needlessly charged into a ruck on the stroke of halftime with his shoulder making contact with the head of Japan's Kippei Ishida.

The experienced wing put his team under a lot of pressure as a result.

Even if Adams is available there is an argument Wales should shake up the back-three.

Yet again on Saturday Wales struggled aerially, with fullback Blair Murray exposed in the air for the second week running.

Murray is a very potent attacking player and would be better suited out the wing in my opinion, with Louis Rees-Zammit also out wide.

Tom Rogers’ prowess in the air is a big strength of his game and the 26-year-old should start at fullback.

IS THE MIDFIELD WORKING?

Wales' attack looked more potent than it has for a while against Argentina but they took a few steps backwards on Saturday.

At one stage Japan were down to 13 men, yet Wales could not find a way to get over the whitewash which isn't good enough at this level.

It must be noted Tandy is starting from scratch so there is an argument for sticking with the same midfield of Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn for the sake of continuity.

But neither player was effective enough against Japan and if Wales are going to stand any chance of causing the All Blacks any problems they need more punch in midfield.