Wales v New Zealand: how to watch Autumn Internationals match on TV, what channel is it on - and kick off time

The home nations are getting set to once again test themselves against the best of the best from the southern hemisphere in this year’s rugby union autumn internationals.

England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland will host the likes of world champions South Africa as well as the All Blacks, Australia and more in the coming weeks.

The 2021 autumn internationals kick off this weekend with Wales v New Zealand being the opening game on Saturday 30 October.

Here is everything you need to know about the game.

Where is the game being played?

One factor firmly in Wales’ favour will be a bumper crowd, the first time they will have played in front of such an attendance at home since hosting France during last year’s Guinness Six Nations.

A first 70,000-plus crowd at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium since February last year will witness Wales’ latest attempt to topple the All Blacks this afternoon in the Autumn Nations Series opener on Saturday 30 October.

The odds are stacked against Wales, given that they last achieved a victory in the fixture 68 years ago, suffering 31 successive defeats, with 16 of those losses being on home soil.

Wayne Pivac’s men face a Herculean task, with New Zealand arriving in Cardiff on the back of another Rugby Championship title triumph.

Who will be playing?

A lengthy list of injuries and unavailable players have compounded Wales’ degree of difficulty this time around, with absentees including the likes of Dan Biggar, Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Liam Williams, Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric.

Johnny Williams feels that Wales’ decades of defeat and disappointment against New Zealand will provide extra motivation in Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series opener.

Asked if the history books provided extra motivation, Wales centre Williams said: “100%. If you think about it, we could be the first group to go and beat them for almost 70 years.

“It is a huge, huge carrot at the end of the game to deliver the win. What that would do for the country during a lot of dark times recently, what that would do for the nation would be massive, and there is serious motivation to get the win.

“It would be amazing to do that. That history does of course mean something, and we have got to fix that.

Williams lines up alongside his Scarlets colleague Jonathan Davies in midfield, making a fourth Test match appearance but first since the opening game of last season’s Guinness Six Nations Championship.

A shoulder injury stalled the 25-year-old in recent months, and he added: “ It almost feels like a first cap, in a way, that real special moment playing in front of fans at the stadium with such a tough challenge ahead.

“It is going to mean the world to have all my family there supporting me at the stadium in front of a sold-out crowd. It’s going to be big.”

How can I watch it?

Amazon Prime will show 17 out of the 25 autumn internationals in 2021 including all of England, Scotland and Wales’ matches.

The online streaming service is available for £7.99 per month after a 30 day free trial.

The subscription also includes many other exclusive Amazon services.

Ireland matches will be shown live in the UK on Channel 4 and can be streamed on All4.

When is kick-off?

Wales v New Zealand kicks off at 5,15pm.

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