New Zealand will not be spending the week sulking after their semi-final defeat to England ended their quest for a third successive World Cup. The All Blacks are fixed on ending the tournament on a high by defeating Wales at Tokyo Stadium in Friday’s play-off
After a thorough review of the 19-7 reverse to England – the All Blacks’ first loss in the tournament since 2007 – attention turned to Wales whose head coach Warren Gatland is returning to New Zealand to coach the Chiefs.
“The review was not a pleasant experience,” said the New Zealand assistant coach, Ian Foster, who indicated he would talk about whether he would put his name forward to succeed Steve Hansen as head coach after the tournament. “We did not play as well as we wanted to on a big occasion.
“We have a responsibility to the team going forward to make sure we grasp what happened and why it did. It is not just what you see but also what you feel. The match against Wales gives us a chance to redeem ourselves and show we are a better team than we looked last weekend.
“It is a really important game for us as a group. It is not easy when you are knocked out of the tournament and go straight home, as happened in 2007. You take the disappointment with you through the summer so we are really pleased we have this match which gives us the chance to get back on the horse.”
It will be New Zealand’s fourth playoff. They beat Scotland in 1991 and France in 2003 but lost to South Africa in 1999. They will be looking to extend their winning run against Wales which stretches back to 1953 and it will give Foster the opportunity to catch up with Gatland, a Waikato teammate in the 1980s and 1990s.
“It will be good to see him back in New Zealand,” said Foster. “Wales will be in the same state as us after a tight loss in a tough semi-final. We will pick the team we feel is best equipped to win the match after seeing how players are feeling. The only one struggling with injury is Ardie Savea.”
Foster said one reason why New Zealand struggled to find a response to England’s early onslaught was that the two teams did not face each other very often: it was only the second Test between the sides since 2014 and the other was last November at Twickenham.
“I am not offering it as an excuse because England were in exactly the same position,” said Foster. “They had targeted the game as a big one for them and they are a team of quality. Every time you learn a bit more about them and the things they feel are important. We knew it would be a mammoth game and one we would be in danger of losing if we did not play as we needed to. We would like to play them more because it is a great rivalry.”