New Zealand - What they had to say

Comments from New Zealand head coach Ian Foster, flanker Dalton Papali’i and wing Mark Telea at their eve-of-match media conference at the Stade de France.

Ian Foster, head coach:

On the different challenge of facing France at the Stade de France:

“It’s very much a rugby country and I think it’s one of best stadiums in the world. Their ability to create an occasion is pretty special. Turn up tomorrow night and I think you’ll feel that.”

On Finlay Christie being on the bench rather than Cam Roigard:

“It’s just based on the work they have done. Fin has got a bit more experience at this level than Cam, but he is doing everything right. Fin is a strong defensive player so maybe has a bit of an edge there, but we’re very confident in all our nines.”

On what response he is expecting to the haka:

“I’m not sure, that’s their choice. Historically they have sometimes and not at other times. We are at peace with that, we’re happy for the opposition to respond how they want to the haka. For us, it is a special part of our legacy and who we are as a team, how we connect to each other and the past. We know they will respect it, they have a history of respecting it. The fact they may respond in different ways is not seen by us as a lack of respect.”

On the importance of the opening game, given South Africa lost theirs in 2019 but won the tournament:

“I’m often asked what we’d do differently about 2019 and I said ‘Just throw the first game’. We beat South Africa and they happened to have a different path to the final. You never know in tournaments. We have one clear goal, to make sure we qualify and get into a quarter-final situation. Then it is a one-off game. Everybody is talking about this game, but we have also got Namibia, Uruguay and a very enthusiastic Italian team.

“But this game is special in its own right. This is my third World Cup and I have never seen so much put on it. I think that’s because the host nation has strong expectations of winning it, the same with the public, against a team I think the public have a lot of respect for. It is well scripted and it’s a game we want to commit everything to. But if we win or lose, it doesn’t change much. We have still got to qualify out of this group.”

On whether they have a point to prove after losing to South Africa:

“I don’t think we have a point to prove in relation to that game. We are always disappointed, we don’t like losing, particularly with the injuries and the cards that caused it to be a very disruptive performance. But it hasn’t altered our trajectory. It was a game stuck in the middle of a break for us. It really doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is what we learnt from it. But we always have a point to prove, we can’t hide from that. It’s a very big stage tomorrow, we are a very proud team. We want to play well and we are determined to. We will assess after that and see how we progress in this tournament.”

On whether the pressure on France could suit the All Blacks:

“There’s no doubt there’s lot of pressure on them, being the hosts. How they respond to that, I’m not sure. The only thing we can control is to make sure we pressure them and play our game, and not get caught up in the emotion of the crowd. It’s no stranger to us, expectation. If we win, we always have that massive expectation to go and do it again. If we lose badly, we have got to deal with all that expectation.

“We have prepared well for how we deal with pressure, but this particular group has got to grow under World Cup pressure, and it is different. We’re proud of the way the guys have gone about their work. We had some clear goals and we’ve ticked off most of those. Now we are ready to go. We want to walk out on to the park with shiny eyes, nice and light, and ready to play. We have been waiting for it. Once the ref blows his whistle, let’s see what happens.”

On whether they have spoken about New Zealand having won only one World Cup away from home:

“Definitely. We have won three World Cups and are the most successful nation alongside South Africa. Yet when you look at how hard it is to win them, we have won one out of seven away. That shows you the size of the task. You learn over history that you don’t just turn up and win, you’ve got to play well - and lot of All Blacks team haven’t achieved that.

“In a way we are representing them, we have learnt some lessons. 2015 was special but we felt some pain in Japan. We are in a strong rugby country with some strong nations at the moment. It’s going to be a pretty special tournament and there’s no doubt that as a group, we have to be at the peak of our game.”

Dalton Papali’i, flanker

On what he will experience when he runs on to the field tomorrow:

“There will be lots of emotions going out there but the good thing is in this environment, we have lots of players with experience. I have a process I always fall back on in big games like this. Once the warm-up starts to happen, you have a job to do so you put those emotions aside and get on with it. This is what we play rugby for, occasions like this.”

On his emotions since being told he was starting the match:

“To be honest I’ve always dreamt of this moment. Sometime dreams come true and in my case it has. When I first got told, I was over the moon, just proud to represent this team and my family, and get my last name on the world stage. To do it with this team… I’m shaking even talking about it now. It means so much to me, to do it for myself, my family and the boys I get to work with. It’s truly special, I really want to soak it up. You have a job to do for the team, but the excitement levels are going crazy.”

Mark Telea, wing:

On whether he can add to New Zealand’s history of wingers starring at Rugby World Cups:

“New Zealand have a rich history of great outside backs. I am just trying to pave my own way, add to my own legacy, with great players and leaders around me and a great coaching staff. The amount of effort we put in is crazy. We just want to go out and display the type of rugby we play in New Zealand.”

On the emotions of being here:

“I can’t really put it into words. It takes me back to my debut in Scotland, Fozzie [Ian Foster] telling me ‘I want to give you a crack, take the opportunity’. I try to prepare well, get my mind and body ready and when the team is named, do what you can for the team. The emotion for me has been overwhelming. I feel fortunate to be selected and want to do the best I can, especially with the backs we have got. I am just grateful the coach sees something in me.”