New Zealand Rugby World Cup squad given traditional Maori welcome on

There’s something about New Zealand and France where the rugby World Cup is concerned.

“It was great to get out there and see how much they enjoyed their rugby”, he tells the Weekly.

“Argentina are the highest-ranked side after ourselves in that pool so we wouldn’t be wanting to let them win that game”, Hansen said.

Wilkinson wants England to end the debate around their starting fly-half and commit fully to George Ford.

Tindall, along with other members of the team, including Thompson, were also spotted engaging in an infamous dwarf-throwing contest during the tournament, before crashing out to France in the quarter-finals.

He featured in 2007 when England lost the final to South Africa, and bowed out of worldwide rugby after the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

That recurring nightmare coupled with the All Blacks inability to win a World Cup away from home, despite consistently dominating the rankings, has forced coach Steve Hansen to ram home the message that there is no room for arrogance.

“It is never about money, it is playing for each other”.

They were greeted at the World Heritage Site, which is famous for many executions as well as housing the Crown Jewels, by tournament organisers and the Lord Mayor of London, Alan Yarrow. Land Rover is recruiting all 96 official mascots for Rugby World Cup 2015 as part of its “We Deal In Real” campaign.

“I’m not a 100 per cent sure whether he will be here for our game against England, but he will be here within the last two weeks of September”, McKee said.

But coach Michael Cheika is confident his plan will serve Australia well. “Hopefully I can get picked in that first game and we can shock the world”.

While the injury fall-out from Cardiff has left many rugby followers wondering whether the match was worth the hassle, Parisse’s only rival as a celebrity player in Italy, the wild-haired prop Martin Castrogiovanni, was resolute in defending the fixture.

“Excited” was an in-word among the All Blacks after their arrival from Auckland via Los Angeles. There’s also a strong injection of youth.

Meyer insisted his side were not favourites and said they preferred “to be under the radar, if that is possible for us”.

Experienced centre Ma’a Nonu missed New Zealand’s squad flight to London owing to illness, but Hansen confirmed the 33-year-old will shortly link up with the squad after overcoming his bug.