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The halftime speech that rallied the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final
By Ned Lester
A new series has revealed the halftime speech that fired New Zealand up before returning to the field to lock horns with South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final.
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After 40 minutes in the final, the All Blacks were down six points and a captain; an unprecedented deficit on the sport’s grandest stage, and one that no team has ever overcome.
The red card to captian Sam Cane and the accuracy of Handre Pollard’s boot painted a grim picture for the Kiwis’ championship hopes.
For the coaching staff, the challenge was clear.
“We just had to get on with it and not get too emotional or blurred or angry. We know what it means to drop a forward and go down, but it’s the mental stuff, that’s the challenge,” head coach Ian Foster said when reflecting on the final in NZR+’s latest season of In Their Own Words.
Foster’s thoughts were shared by mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka, the longest serving member of the All Blacks staff.
Enoka’s storied career with the All Blacks had seen him contribute to two World Cup winning campaigns, in 2011 and 2015, priming him for moments like these.
“My role at halftime is usually more observational,” Enoka stated for the series. “What pricks my senses is when I hear silence and I feel what’s existing in the space.
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“I quite often have thoughts which I don’t say, but in that moment I wanted to make sure that I didn’t look back in time and say ‘I thought it and wish I’d said it’.
“At times, all you need is one person to say one thing that all of a sudden gives you the power to believe.”
Enoka had a simple message, one that invoked the pride in the All Blacks jersey and inspired the sense of hope that was so desperately needed in that moment.
“Boys, no one expects us to get the job done here, but wow, it’d be a hell of a story if we won. You’d be part of All Black folklore.
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“Go write the story.”
Short and sweet, the speech hit home for the players, as an inspired second half saw the team keep the Springboks scoreless and draw the lead back to within one point, with multiple chances to take the lead.
Jordie Barrett reflected on the speech, saying: “When Gilbert said ‘what a story this would be’, you almost wanted to stand up and run out that tunnel.”
Richie Mo’unga added his thoughts in that moment: “We’ve been through it all, we’ve been through thick and thin, why can’t we be that team that can do it under these circumstances?”
Dalton Papali’i added: “We’re the All Blacks, we’re not going away, we’re going to go until the end.”
While the team did indeed fight until the very end, a one-point deficit survived the final 23 minutes and it was the Springboks who claimed their fourth Webb Ellis Cup that night in Paris.
Having since retired from the All Blacks, Enoka walks away knowing he said his piece and inspired a performance that took the biggest game in the history of the sport right down to the wire.
