The solitary New Zealand winner from the World Cup weekend could be referee Paddy O'Brien.
With the All Blacks out of contention, O'Brien is in the running to control Saturday's final.
The Herald understands O'Brien and Andre Watson, who refereed the 1999 final, have been favoured to run this year's conclusion.
Watson ran
touch in Saturday's semifinal, while O'Brien was in charge for last night's second semifinal between France and England.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks will be without halfback Justin Marshall and prop Kees Meeuws for Thursday's playoff for third and fourth in Sydney. Marshall damaged rib cartilage and Meeuws tore a calf muscle in Saturday's loss to Australia.
The All Blacks' semifinal stumble also hit their pockets. They stood to earn an extra $15,000 each for a victory on Saturday, with the potential to add another $50,000 each if they won the final.
Instead, they added about $20,000 to their annual salaries by winning their pool games and the quarter-final against the Springboks.
