New Zealand at full strength for final test

BAGSHOT, England (Reuters) - New Zealand selected an unchanged and vastly experienced team for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final against Australia as they seek to retain the title and become the first country to win the trophy three times.

New Zealand at full strength for final test

(Reuters)





After the squad came through a bruising semi-final against South Africa, Steve Hansen can field his strongest unit, including the same bench, with the matchday 23 boasting a remarkable 1,339 caps.

Flyhalf Dan Carter will play in his 112th and last international, hoping to bow out on the ultimate high having missed most of the last tournament after being injured in the pool stage and been knocked out in the quarter-finals in 2007.

Centres Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, reserve hooker Keven Mealamu and, almost certainly, captain Richie McCaw, will also be retiring from the test scene after Saturday's game, the five taking almost 600 caps worth of experience with them.

Seven of the starting team were in the match 15 who played in the win over France in the final four years ago in Auckland.

"We wanted to get some stability. We wanted to get to the business end of the tournament pretty solid on our selection. We have had limited injuries so we have been very lucky," coach Steve Hansen told reporters at the team's Pennyhill Park training base in Surrey -- normally England's home.

"When you've got experienced players and they are in good form, that's a massive advantage."

Hansen said the key to this week's preparation was to do the same things as in any test week.

"You have to quietly build day-by-day. We don't want to get carried away, do things differently, because it is the final. We know what works for us, the formula's pretty proven, and we need to stick to that and make good decisions," he said.

Hansen added that he was unaware of a reported edict within the Wallabies camp that the players were not allowed to refer to their rivals as the All Blacks.

"I hadn't heard that," he said. "They can call us what they want -- being Aussies, they probably will."

McCaw is attempting to become the first captain to hoist the Webb Ellis trophy twice and stuck to his guns on Thursday when pressed on his future beyond the weekend.

"I've purposely not got into that as I didn’t want to get all hung up about could be and might be," he said.

"It's no secret that I need to have a good reflect when I get home but it just hasn't entered my mind this week.

"I just want to play this weekend as best as I can. I haven't allowed myself to think a second past the final whistle -- that leads to unhelpful thoughts.

"As far as becoming the first person to lift it twice, well if we get that performance right, it'll be something that's pretty nice to do."





(Editing by Ken Ferris)


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world