The All Blacks will face Wales in the bronze final on Friday night. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The All Blacks will face Wales in the bronze final on Friday night. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It's the game no one wants to play; the ultimate Rugby World Cup booby prize, the bronze playoff match for third and fourth.
But, despite the agony of their semifinal defeat loss to England the night before, the All Blacks are intent of putting in a performance they can beproud of at Tokyo Stadium on Friday night. For several, including skipper Kieran Read and coach Steve Hansen, it will be the last time they are closely involved with the All Blacks.
"We're playing, obviously, so we will treat it like any test match," Read said yesterday. "It will be a bit different for us but we'll prepare as well as we can and perform as best we can. We're All Blacks so it's a chance for us to pull on the jersey again.
"For some of us it may be our last chance. There are a few things there what we'll work through this week and come Friday we'll be ready to go."
All Blacks captain Kieran Read, flanked by Beauden Barrett and Sam Whitelock. Photo / Mark Mitchell
What was plainly obvious still was how much Read was still hurting from that 19-7 defeat at the hands of England.
He was close to tears when describing how he returned to his hotel room to see cards sent by his children on the occasion of his 34th birthday, and Hansen was close to breaking too when asked who he rang from the side of the Yokohama Stadium pitch straight after the loss. It was his wife Natasha.
So getting up for this next challenge will be one of the toughest of their careers and it's likely several players not involved in the England loss will get a run; men such as Ben Smith and Ryan Crotty are likely to play, along with Sonny Bill Williams, on the bench for the last two games here.
Hansen said it wasn't for him to comment on whether the playoff for what is effectively second and third losers should be played. Like it or not, it's a test, and he and his men still have a remarkable record to protect.
"The fact is the game's there and the fact is we have to get up," he said. "They're the inconvenient facts. How do we do that? Well, we get connected again and set ourselves an immediate goal and work hard to make sure that we really enjoy this week. It will be the last week that this team is together and we have an opportunity to do it well.
"I know in talking to the boys we'll get a response.
"We haven't sat down and talked to the players about who's playing yet. It's a Friday game so we'll name the team on Wednesday. There are two options; you ask the guys who went around on Saturday to go around again or you use your whole squad.
"We've always said we're a team of 31 and we've been working hard for each other so I would probably, if I was a journalist writing a story, be writing about a few extra guys coming in. If there is they probably deserve to be there."
All Blacks coaches Ian Foster and Steve Hansen. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Asked how important the game was to perhaps give the younger men in the squad – men such as Sevu Reece, George Bridge and Richie Mo'unga who have never had to deal with this sort of adversity before – Hansen was unequivocal.
"For the young guys, and, to be fair, the old guys," he said, "there's not been a lot of adversity. For 12 years we've been reasonably successful in game after game after game. I think we've dropped 10 games now out of 106, which is pretty amazing in itself. But what it does do is take away all those guys who have felt the pain. It's important that we bottle the pain…
"It's massively important. This team will never be together again. No team goes from year to year. We all know that some people are moving on. It's an opportunity to express some things that we find particularly special about being an All Black. We've got to represent the legacy of the jersey and those who have come before us by showing we can play well again."
After the loss to England, Hansen eventually wandered off to the side of the field where he made a phone call. He then spoke with former All Blacks coach Graham Henry and centre Conrad Smith.
Asked who he called, Hansen needed to compose himself to prevent an emotional response that would lead television bulletins for days to come.
"I rang my wife," Hansen said, pausing to take a sip of water in order to hold back tears. "And we had a bit of a chat.
"I then talked to Ted and Conrad about '07 and we mentioned the fact it's no different, the same gutting feeling.
"Then Ted and I talked about how well George Ford had played. Ted had quite a few comments and I did a bit of listening, trying to do a bit of learning, and then you just move on don't you?
"Is it hard to stomach? Course it is. It's gut-wrenching because we wanted to win the thing but so did they. Life's not fair so why would sport be fair. You don't always get the thing you want. And when you don't you've got to measure your character on how you deal with that."
Wales head into their final match with more injury woes after Tomas Francis and George North both left the field in their semifinal defeat to South Africa.
"We'll look closely at players in the next few days and see how they pull up ahead of the game against the All Blacks. We have to think about whether we make a few changes and give some players a rest with a five-day turnaround," said coach Warren Gatland after the 19-16 defeat.
"For me, it's my last game in charge against the All Blacks. It will be monumental. As a coach, it's the only team I haven't beaten with Wales. It would be nice to be able to achieve that," he added.
