All Blacks loose forward Akira Ioane says his side must be ready to match Scotland's fire in their northern tour clash at Murrayfield on Sunday (NZ time), as the home team seek a first-ever win against the men in black.
New Zealand have had an up-and-down year that has led some to suggest they are there for the taking, but they blew away Wales in an eight-try 55-23 romp in Cardiff last weekend to suggest they are nearing their best.
Ioane believes Scotland will be a step up in quality from that encounter and says the All Blacks will do well not to underestimate opponents who have not beaten them in 31 previous attempts.
"They are a good team," he said. "They have got a lot of threats over the ball, and a lot of speed and strength out wide.
"We can't take them lightly. They'll come out guns blazing, and we have to match that and make sure the boys are up for the fight.
"Our breakdown will have to be on point or they are going to steal a lot of ball.
The sides haven't met since 2017, when the All Blacks emerged with a 22-17 win.
Scotland have looked impressive in recent weeks, beating Argentina and only denied victory over the Wallabies by a last-gasp penalty.
"They haven't won ever, so no doubt they will be fired up," said Ioane. "We have to be ready for a Scottish team that will go past the 80 [minutes], so we have to dig deep and make sure we nail what we can."
The All Blacks have lost six tests in the last 12 months, their worst run since the late 1990s, but are chasing a sixth win in a row, after a recent upturn in results, if not quite performance.
They squeezed past Japan 38-31 in unconvincing fashion in their opening autumn international clash, before putting Wales to the sword.
"We wanted to take a step up from Japan and I think we did that, but Scotland is going to be another step up again," said Ioane. "I know the boys are looking forward to it.
"We have been preparing well."
The All Blacks squad to face Scotland will be named on Saturday morning.
Reuters/Newshub
