All Blacks: Medal mystery for injured ABs at Rugby World Cup

Mils Muliaina (left) and Dan Carter (right). Photo / Getty Images

If the All Blacks achieve the ultimate Rugby World Cup success next Sunday, it is not yet known if injured stars such as Dan Carter and Mils Muliaina will receive a winner's medal.

Carter and Muliaina have been two of the cornerstones of the All Blacks for the past four years but there is some hesitation over whether the star duo would receive winner's medals after being invalided out of the squad.

Along with Colin Slade, the duo have been withdrawn, with Stephen Donald, Aaron Cruden and Hosea Gear now occupying their places on the 30-man roster.

The injured trio have had to pass on their World Cup accreditations to their replacements and are attending the matches from now on as spectators.

In response to a Herald on Sunday enquiry, the IRB media department confirmed that 30 medals are produced for players, as well as a set number allocated to team management.

This applies to the gold winner's medals, as well as the silver medals that are presented to the runners-up and the bronze medals that go to the third place team.

In theory, this could mean there is no medal for those players such as Carter who have been invalided out of the squad - but the picture is far from certain.

All Blacks manager Darren Shand said the solution to such a predicament was yet to be discussed by the team or the management group.

"As far as I know, there is no protocol around this and I have not seen a document relating to this," said Shand. "It's not something we have considered at all at this stage."

IRB head of communications Dominic Rumbles said that all "participating players" would receive a medal, without clarifying how participation was defined or how that would be achieved within the 30 medal cap.

He cited the example of England prop Danny Grewcock, who was sent home injured during their successful 2003 World Cup campaign.

Grewcock did eventually receive a winner's medal - but it looked like an afterthought; the final was played on November 22, 2003 and Grewcock reportedly didn't receive his medal until over a year later.

One possibility - as has happened in other codes - is that they themselves could be left to decide.

One of the most famous medal swaps occurred after the 2004 NRL grand final, when Johnathan Thurston gave his NRL premiership ring to injured skipper Steve Price, who had been ruled out of the final after suffering a knee injury the week before. Thurston was called in as the replacement but selflessly offered his souvenir of the victory to Price after the game.

"It was a beautiful moment," remembers Price. "He had tears in his eyes when he said 'I want you to have this'."

Whether someone such as Donald or Cruden should offer a possible medal to the likes of Carter, Price admits it is a tough question.

"The guys who are coming in have to do a fantastic job as well to get their team over the line," says Price. "It could be a defining moment in their careers - when they could become the player they were meant to be."

Price knows the emotions that will be going through the injured players' heads watching tonight.

"Dan [Carter] and Mils [Muliaina] will feel helpless on the sideline. It is one of the most frustrating things you can experience as a player."