\u201cScotland have been together for a long time,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cTheir playing group are pretty established, their coaching group pretty established.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, we got off to a good start and then [conceded] three yellow cards and that let them back in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can play on top of you, they can use the ball really, well with width and they can get momentum quick. So I think our defensive efforts will be important this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan said the All Blacks intend to name their strongest side as they look to build consistency and combinations towards finishing the season on a high.<\/p>\n
First five-eighths Richie Mo\u2019unga and loose forward Ethan Blackadder are the only players not fit and won\u2019t be ready to go.<\/p>\n
Damian McKenzie’s stunning try helped the All Blacks claim a 25-17 win over Scotland in their last meeting. Photo \/ Smartframe<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to probably get a bit of consistency with combinations and I think we saw that in the second test in the Bledisloe,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had guys that had back-to-back tests in some key areas and then we selected, gave a few other guys an opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will pick our definitely our strongest side this week against Scotland. We\u2019re going to need to and we\u2019re going to have to be at our absolute best to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victory is vital for both sides as they seek further wins in the Nations Championship.<\/p>\n
Both teams sit second in their respective Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere standings.<\/p>\n
While the All Blacks are coming off back-to-back wins over the Wallabies, Ryan is wary conditions in the Northern Hemisphere will make things more challenging.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we made some good shifts from a couple of lessons that we had in South Africa,\u201d he said. \u201cWe tidied up a couple of areas around probably our maul D [defence] and we\u2019re pretty satisfied with how our ball-carrying clean[out] went using our footwork at the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we come to Europe, we know that the conditions are a little bit different over here potentially with the colder weather, so not forcing offloads if they aren\u2019t there, the 50-50s that probably would stick in the games where we\u2019ve had the sun at our backs for all of our test matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we want to still get the boys to play with skill and offload in the tackle, we just got to make sure we get the balance right there.\u201d<\/p>\n