All Blacks Turn to Cane

He said that at halftime he told his players “keep your attitude and intensity, but (New Zealand) reacted, got the ball and didn’t lose it any more, their capacity is well known and they managed to overcome our siege”.

Namibia have conceded an average 65 points in their 15 previous RWC matches, all losses, but Hansen rebuffs suggestions the All Blacks could threaten the record 145 points racked up against Japan at the 1995 tournament in South Africa.

New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter has revealed how hard it was for him to watch his teammates win the World Cup on home soil four years ago.

If McCaw comes on as a replacement, it will be his 18th Rugby World Cup appearance, breaking the record of 17 he shares with former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick. “World Rugby’s spent a lot of time and energy and money trying to help the so-called minnows of the game to improve and I think by and large they’ve been successful in doing that”, he said. Sometimes in the heat of the moment you have a brain explosion.

But he said “I thought the second half was a lot more clinical”. We couldn’t allow that in the second half… had to change things. “We can’t afford to play with 14 men, let alone 13 for a while”.

The appointment of the 67th All Blacks captain was applauded by the team who say there is vast respect for Cane who now captains the Chiefs in Super rugby after joining the squad as a 17-year-old.

Iain will be here at around 4.30pm to bring you all of the build-up, but before it starts, have a read of our preview below…

But the gallant Pumas were worn down by the black machine in a fractious clash which saw three players yellow carded including All Blacks’ skipper Richie McCaw for the third time in his 143-Test career. It was an easy run-in for his fifth try against Argentina in seven Tests.

The Argentines kept pushing and were rewarded with a try after some excellent picking and driving, Guido Petti getting over the line but injuring himself in the process.

The openside flanker will lead the New Zealand team onto the pitch at The Olympic Stadium in London, ready for kick-off at 8pm tomorrow.

However, hat-trick scorer Cory Allen is likely to miss the rest of the Rugby World Cup as he joined a growing Wales casualty list.

While it will be pleasing for Hansen to see some of his backs get some confidence, he wants the team to make sure they stick to their structures and build on their opening win.