Wynne Gray: Victory perfect Christmas gift

The All Blacks have brought mixed performances this season. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks have brought mixed performances this season and as their 14th and final international approaches, there is no certainty about their production.

Weary, sore, battling mentally. They are afflictions which have gained more traction in the modern rugby language and you can see why.

When those who make the All Blacks are involved in rugby from February through to the end of November, it makes you tired following their production and travel plans all around the globe. By this stage of the season their minds more than their bodies are screaming for a spell.

A similar feeling invades the rest of the nation as the lead-up to Christmas gets more social. Many attending work are there physically but have checked out mentally and that is the biggest snag for the All Blacks as they face Wales in their final test of the year.

That is reality rather than an excuse and an issue northern hemisphere sides face in their mid-year visits Downunder.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been searching for an antidote and took a massive squad on this trip to try to freshen his senior group. They beat France who lost their way in the first half and then held on against a fast-finishing Scotland.

The All Blacks have brought mixed performances this season and as their 14th and final international approaches, there is no certainty about their production.

Captain Kieran Read is the latest casualty in an experienced group of defections but injuries are a common by-product all rugby sides have to cope with. Absences allow the sort of opportunities Damian McKenzie has pounced on with Ben Smith, Jordie Barrett and Israel Dagg not available at fullback.

McKenzie's work has also given the coaches a broader idea of his skill and tweaked their thoughts about where he is best suited in the backline.

If Luke Whitelock can build on his midweek appearance captaining the side against a French XV from No8, that will give the selectors more to go on as they keep looking for a specialist backup for Read. Same with Patrick Tuipulotu whose performance in the same midweek match has leapfrogged him into the starting lock vacancy tomorrow.

Everyone is tired. Wales have exhausted generations since they last beat the All Blacks, the public have grown weary of the supposed feud between Hansen and Warren Gatland and the tourists are fighting their off-season travel plans.

But we want to see how Liam Squire fronts, whether Rieko Ioane has one last dazzling match, if SBW can punch out another strong game, how Sam Whitelock responds to the captaincy and if Kane Hames and Nepo Laulala can shunt their rivals on the tricky surface in Cardiff.

That's their job, a very public job where they are under as much scrutiny as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern before they also go into recess. Then we might discuss other sports but not for too long before it kicks off again.