Canadian players wowed by touching gesture: 'It's huge, it's an honour'
The All Blacks have once again shown why they are the nice guys at the Rugby World Cup, with Canada left touched by their gratitude after the All Blacks’ 63-0 win on Wednesday.
After the clash, the All Blacks invited the Canadians into their dressing rooms, a gesture that their opponents described as “a huge honour.”
“We wanted to earn their respect through the way we played, and them inviting us in was a token of respect for us”, said Peter Nelson after he swapped jerseys with All Black first five Richie Mo’unga.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, as well as skipper Kieran Read, reached out to Canucks after the two sides thanked the crowd in Oita.
“I saw Steve after the game and he said, ‘If you guys want, come grab a beer with us after and say hi’,” said Canada captain Tyler Ardron, who plays for the Chiefs and Bay of Plenty.
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“I went over straight after and swapped jerseys with Kieran and he mentioned it again, so I got the whole team to go over.”
Canada prop Jake Ilnicki, who said visiting the opposition dressing room was rare, got the opportunity to exchange jerseys with his opposite, Nepo Laulala.
“He was a bit hesitant because he said he normally keeps his jerseys to give back to his community, which is something I do as well. He said he doesn’t normally swap, but he felt he had to at the end of that game, which was pretty cool to get that respect from him.”
The players enjoyed some laughs after the hard-fought game, including poking some fun at All Blacks lock Scott Barrett after he knocked the ball on over the line when attempting to score a try.
“We laughed about how tired we all were because the same thing happened when we had the ball,” Ardron said. “It was just a laugh.”
Canada second-rower Josh Larsen said: “I had a talk to Scott after the game and we had a bit of a joke about it. The others were giving him a bit of a stick and I think the second one that he did score, he almost fumbled it, too.”
Larsen, who grew up playing rugby in New Zealand, got to swap jerseys with childhood teammate Jack Goodhue.
“They were very welcoming, a humble group,” he said. “We shared our thoughts on the game. They were interested in North American rugby, what players do on this side of the world.
“That’s the beautiful thing about rugby – enemies on the field and then friends off it. There’s still that camaraderie and humbleness to the whole thing.”
“It’s huge, it’s an honour,” said Canada’s Lucas Rumball of the All Blacks’ hospitality. “It shows how hard we worked and how we’re growing as a team.”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.
See what Mario Ledesma had to say after Argentina’s loss to England:
Comments on RugbyPass
Steve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
20 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
3 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
3 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
3 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
3 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
20 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
18 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
3 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
20 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
20 Go to commentsWho’d have thought, not having Farrell & Youngs kicking the ball at every possible opportunity and playing flat and allowing your centres to run and pass would pay off? No one could possibly have seen this coming. FML. It took a LONG time coming but at least that time has finally come. England need to find a backup to Lawrence. Freeman is the best candidate for me, I see no reason why he can't play 12. He's big, strong, fast and has great hands.
20 Go to commentsLove Manu but he's not the player he was and I imagine Bayonne have paid too much money for him.
3 Go to comments