“A big part of rugby is earning your teammates’ respect. The haka is one of the ultimate signs of respect, so it was awesome and really cool my family were able to be in the changing room, which is pretty rare. It’s a special circle in there. For the team to open it up to my mum, dad, sisters, wife - it was really cool to share that with them.”
Aaron Smith, one of the All Blacks’ 13 centurions, sent Cane a message at the start of the week telling him to enjoy the tributes, to be grateful and appreciative, rather than brushing those off and staying laser-focused on the game.
Cane heeded that advice to savour his last test on New Zealand soil before departing for Japan at the end of the year.
“I tried to enjoy the moments throughout the week, and there were a lot of special ones, mainly from teammates, coaches and people I have a lot of respect for.
“It was an indescribable buzz running out first. Wellington tonight, and around town, it’s the biggest buzz I’ve felt around the place, and I’ve played a few test matches here.”
Celebrations would have been muted had the All Blacks failed to banish their six-year winless capital curse. As it transpired, after falling behind early, the All Blacks ran in five tries to one to score 21 unanswered points and take a step forward in their closing Rugby Championship assignment.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here with too much of a smile if we didn’t get that part right,” Cane said. “It was a tough first half, we had to work hard for it. We managed to take a few moments in the second half to put some pressure on. The defence in that last 20 minutes was outstanding - they threw everything at us and we kept showing up. Those sort of things build resilience and will put us in good stead.
“When I reflect back on my last game on New Zealand soil, I’ll have fond memories for sure.”
Cane isn’t yet ready to close his All Blacks chapter. He remains committed, available if required, for the five-test northern tour.
But with the end of his test career dawning, it remains to be seen whether All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is ready to move on and groom his next open side.
“As long as I’m contracted here in New Zealand, I’ll put my hand up to go on the end of year tour, but I’ll leave that up to them,” Cane said. “I could understand if they didn’t want to go down that path. I’ve really enjoyed the environment, my role within the team. It’s an awesome group in there and [there’s] a lot of growth still to come.”
While Cane’s milestone marked a successful night for the All Blacks, Perenara cherished his final test at home, too.
When the Hurricanes centurion was replaced midway through the second half, Perenara received a standing ovation from a capacity home crowd.
“I was really proud,” Perenara said. “I’ve played a lot of games here, committed a lot of time to the game of rugby. To be able to run off the field and feel the respect and appreciation from my home and my people was really special.
“Being able to play my last test match in New Zealand at home was really special. I had a lot of family and friends here. To be able to do it with my mate bringing up 100 games as well was pretty cool. It’s been a good week, and [I’m] really happy with the performance we put out there.”
With six wins and three losses thus far this year, the All Blacks believe they are improving. The Bledisloe Cup is locked away. The Rugby Championship title and Freedom Cup were lost.
Vastly tougher tests await in the form of Ireland, England and France, but All Blacks captain Scott Barrett projected confidence and indicated they are ready to tackle those head on.
“We’re trending, we’re learning - possibly not as [quickly] as we’d like, but this team is coming together,” Barrett said. “Over the Rugby Championship, it has been frustrating letting in tries, but tonight we showed plenty of grit there on the line.”
“We set a standard there for what’s required, particularly on defence. Heading north, they’ll challenge us in different areas, probably similar to South Africa with home crowds, and momentum is huge. There will be a lot of lessons to take forward to the tour, and we’ll get excited by that.”
