(ELECTRICAL HUMMING)
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
(swans CHIRP)
(REFLECTIVE MUSIC)
(BIRD sums)
(REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
It's probably a bit of a weird thing to think about at 12 or 13,
but I had this idea that t wanted to make the most of absolutely every opportunity
that came along. And not have any regrets.
I remember thinking that you don't want to be
an old person saying 'what if?' or 'if only'.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC CONTINUES)
MAN: Hooray, we're at the top!
You get into habits of working hard, you get into habits of setting your sights
pretty high, 'cos that's what I've done for so tong.
Now part of me really craves that pressure.
But another part of me realizes it would be nice one day not to have that.
(MAJESTIC MUSIC)
Doing something that no person's done before,
that's what really gets me out of bed every day.
Um, so, no team's won the World Cup back-to-back.
No captain's won the thing back-Io-back.
You know, to be first team and the first players to do that,
that's what gets me out of bed.
(TRAFFIC IN DISTANCE)
(CHATTER, TRAFFIC IN DISTANCE)
There's very very few people that retire having nailed everything they wanna nail
and finish when they wanna finish. Like, that's pretty rare in sport.
(MOTORCYCLE ENGINE HUMS)
But the fact that we've got another chance to play at a World Cup,
the reward's huge, but perhaps the disappointments big as well,
But you gotta risk all that to get those rewards.
(SIREN WAILS)
(SIRENS WAIL)
(SIRENS WAIL IN DISTANCE)
The All Blacks, in South Africa, are back at Ellis Park, Johannesburg.
The Springboks today have claimed the underdogs tag, which they love to do,
Well, it's a cow winter's afternoon here in Johannesburg,
and the clash of the old foes is gonna kick off at 5 o'clock.
(CHEERING)
(URBAN MUSIC PLAYS)
I have thought a little bit about that I wont get to tour here again,
but I'm just grateful to have another chance to play at Ellis Park.
It's one of the great places to play.
So I'm just trying to enjoy a Springbok Test, you know, cos it's one of the ultimates.
(CROWD CLAMOR)
Are the All Blacks gonna carry on their steady march of form and ability
or can Schalk Burger and the players around him try and knock one over Richie
for the last time that he plays here at Ellis Park?
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
Richie McCaw has won more Test matches than I've played.
He's created a culture of winning.
You know, you watch him play, and there's a ruthlessness.
You know, I think he demands of his teammates perfection.
Everyone wants to beat them.
(HUBBUB)
(INTENSE MUSIC)
(CROWD BOO)
(INTENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
There's a lot of psyche involved with international sport.
We draw a- often draw a few similarities to get inspiration
through the guys that go to war or go into battle.
And that's what those guys back in wars and that were fighting for -
was for their sense of identity and who you were'
(CROWD CHEER)
I always wondered myself, if I was in that situation,
whether I'd have enough courage and that.
You know, you'd like to think you would, but,
You talk about being brave or even courage
well, it's pretty easy to do that, cos you're going home every day.
(INTENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(ALL BLACKS CHANT HAKA)
(INTENSE MUSIC)
(CROWD CHEER)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER)
(CROWD BOO)
(CROWD EXCLAIM)
Out of all the rivalries we have, it's one of the toughest Tests you play,
physically and just how hard it is to win.
There's a huge amount of respect between the Springbok players and the All Blacks.
(HUBBUB, WHISTLING)
Incredible Test match. South Africa with a three-point lead.
And bravery from the All Blacks.
And Taylor to the from.
It's a variation, and a score!
Richie McCaw kukaliwa All Blacks!
SCHALK: 20-17 up with, uh, three or four minutes to go and you lose 27-20.
I mean, that- that hurts.
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(INDISTINCT PA ANNOUNCEMENT)
Well, he's a complicated rooster.
On the field's his arena. It's where he's most comfortable.
He just has to play. He doesn't have to be anything else other than a rugby player.
And I think, because of that, we see him being more- more himself.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
Off the field, I think, at times, it's a struggle for him.
He's a reluctant hero.
(CROWD CHEER, SHOUT)
MEN CHANT: Richie! Richie!
I would say, as a younger fulla, I was a bit shy.
I wouldn't be the type of guy that was easiest to get to know,
and, you know, that still isn't easy.
And I think, within a team, that's something I've had to work on.
I don't just bowl on in, you know, like some people have the ability to do,
and just chat away.
And I guess that's just probably the natural shyness I've always had.
(PEOPLE CLAMOUR)
Richie! Please!
Richie, man, come here! Richie, here! Please!
(PEOPLE CLAMOUR)
Richie! Richie!
Richie, please!
(BIRDS SING)
(SHEEP BLEAT)
RT: OK, I'll leave you to it.
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRR)
Gonna come straight in,
It's a bird!
(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRR IN DISTANCE)
My folks would probably ring up every second day, just to see what's going on.
And, they get along to as many games as they can, cos they love coming to watch and support.
But I think if you're gonna talk about the McCaws in general, we're a pretty unemotional bunch.
I just guess it's the way yours brought up. You never say too much about what you're feeling,
And I do notice on the TV sometimes, when I know I'm pretty happy with what happens,
I'll be just pretty deadpan, compared to some people.
Whether it's the farming background, cos I know all the people where we came from,
everyone was just sort of a bit like that, you know.
We've been brought up, not afraid to show emotion, but I think
just keeping it within ourselves.
Have a bit of chicken, Sam.
We've lived in the middle of nowhere on a farm. Never had any limelight.
You know, weren't used to this thing of having a... person that was on TV, famous,
Nana's birthday, is it? Yeah.
Say. 'Happy birthday.'
But there's two separate worlds in his world.
Well, happy birthday.
Yeah, happy birthday, Mother.
ALL SING: # Happy birthday to you.
# Happy birthday to you.
# Happy birthday.“
# ...dear Richard.
# Happy birthday to you.#
Oh!
(EXCITED CHATTER)
(LAUGHS)
(CURIOUS MUSIC)
(SHEEP BLEAT)
Growing up, the valley we were in, it was- you almost- it was- I say isolated.
It was a community that- It was pretty small, really.
(SHEEP BLEAT)
(LAUGHS)
You didn't sort of lust hang out with yourfriends or anything after school. You were back name.
They were obviously a wee way away on their farms and stuff.
(ENGINE DRONES)
Take one of the airplane.
(GENTLE MUSIC)
When I first went to primary school,
it was a small school, and the kids there all talked about rugby.
And I remember the older kids, when I first arrived, you know, 'Are you gonna play rugby?'
And I was, sort of, obviously, only 5. And I was like, 'Oh, rugby.'
And then we used to may it at lunchtimes, and I think pretty much from first day at school,
I'd go home and ask whether I could play rugby on Saturdays.
TV: World Cup winner.
Well, a great home-town victory and great moment for rugby in New Zealand.
I guess the first time I really understood who the All Blacks were was the '87 World Cup,
and especially the final. That's probably the first game I remember properly watching.
I can still visualise him on the floor, his eyes glued to the TV.
(CHANTS 'KA MATE' HAKA)
And then he went for a run round outside.
We just saw out of the corner of our eye, here he was doing the haka.
So he'd obviously taken the haka on board.
# mtangata. Hi! #
(REFLECTIVE MUSIC)
I can remember vaguely that I used to do that,
and the other place I used to practise the haka was in the shower. Don't know why.
And had one Test match recorded, and I used to pretty much watch it over and over again.
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
Mum. Mum.
Right. Hey, guys.
(CHATTER)
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Oh, he was a solid boy.
But he was absolutely fearless.
But the thing about it was we'd have to play touch, cos the ground was that hard,
and I guarantee every morning Richie would say, 'Can we tackle?'
I said, 'No, Richie. You can't tacke.'
And he'd look at you as if to say, 'What the hell's wrong with ya?'
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
That's it. Two steps in.
Drive it in. Drive it in. Drive it in. Yeah, fantastic.
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
One story that I've never ever toid to anybody, because it was a wee bit humiliating,
I think they were under 10,
and I was trying to get them to bring the ball up,
and Richard's turn came round, and he barrelled me back about 3 metres.
And he hit me up and under here somewhere, and I thought he had broken my rib.
And I said to the boys, 'Look, I've got to go home early today,
I've got to shift a mob of sheep.'
So, (CHUCKLES) well, look, I limped around for about three days.
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
I could see that he could may well, and I said to him,
'Look, well, if you get yourself fit, you know, you're gonna enjoy it a lot more.'
And the next day he decided he'd go for a run.
I noticed he just didn't go out to the gate.
He went for serious a couple of 3 K away before he turned round to come home.
And I thought, 'Blimeyf (LAUGHS)
Yeah. 'HOW'd he do that?' (CHUCKLES)
(CHEERING, CLAPPING)
I look back on it, that was pretty dedicated, really, as a young fulla,
but all of a sudden, the game was a lot easier, and I just loved winning.
{CHEERING} Richard! Come on!
(EXCITED CHATTER)
I guess, for as long as I could remember, I've always been very competitive.
But even against my sister, I, uh, made sure I was trying to win all the time.
Joanna. Now, how do you spell your name'?
J-O-A-N-N-A.
And got first prize.
You ask yourself, 'Why is it so important to win against your mates?' You know?
But I go away angry sometimes when I haven't won.
You want to be, uh, in the top.
Uh, that's what drove me, I guess.
Well, it did. I know it did.
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
MARGARET: Because we'd gone to boarding school ourselves,
we thought it'd be a good idea to send them.
(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)
DONALD: It wouldn't have been easy in that boarding house,
but, I mean, yeah, I thought, 'Well, ii he survives that, he'll be all right.'
We had to grow up pretty quick. You know, boarding school can be a bit of a shock,
And I don't think it's for every kid.
And, you know, there were times you got homesick,
but every time I mentioned that to Mum and Dad, they said,
'Well, if you wanna be here, you know, but all your friends have gone away to boarding school,
'and, you know, what would you do here?' And it's sort of, 'Oh. Yep.'
(MEN CHANT HAKA IN DISTANCE)
Like a lot of boarding schools, you had to, sort of, fit in the best you could.
Keeping your head down, trying to stay out of the way of the seniors,
He didn't fall in line. necessarily, with what the seniors wanted him to do.
You know, they'd try and put mm m his place.
And I remember somebody said, 'Well...
You're not gonna be anything special at rugby.'
And he never said anything back,
but I think that just made him more determined to prove them wrong'
He wasn't necessarily the biggest or the strongest or maybe had the best ball skills,
but there was something that little bit different,
in terms of how strong he was mentally,
That combined with working pretty hard academically.
First accounting, second chemistry,
second physics, second-equal statistics, good work calculus -
Richard McCaw.
(APPLAUSE)
I got a bit of a hard time for doing a lot of schoolwork.
Instead of not doing it - conforming - I went harder, cos I wanted to do it right.
I wanted to be the best at it.
RADIO: ...has given his biggest hint yet he may retire from rugby after this year's World Cup,
And he's quashed rumours he's seeking a lucrative French contract,
saying the big money on offer overseas isn't likely to lure him. Yesterday the 34-year-old...
It's really hard to say that I wont be playing again next year.
You know, it's easy to tak about 'maybe if', 'maybe',
but when you actually come to the point and say 'I won't be playing next year, and I'm retiring,'
it seems pretty tough to say, and I guess I've used this year to get my head around...
that, no, thafll be it.
(swans CHIRP)
You know, people always say, 'Be careful about turning your passion into a job.'
But I think rugby has been my greatest love.
And, like, I haven't had a wife and kids at home that some guys, you know,
that stresses them out when they're away trying to play rugby and that
I've never really had those issues.
Underlying feeling I've always had is that I'm just sort of in a holding time
till I gel on with life.
You know, that's the way it's always felt - is that at some point, I'll get on with life.
(PA SYSTEM CHIMES)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
A retired top rugby referee is crying foul
over All Black captain Richie McCaw-“s match-winning try against the Springboks.
Richie McCaw leads the All Blacks next week to the
rugby championship decider against Australia,
where, of course, he's no stranger to accusations of cheating.
And former Wallaby captain Andrew Slack has been watchingfoolage of this controversial try.
Illegal or not?
My view would be that, you know, potentially it was illegal.
H did break that law as written tn the game. But you could probably argue a case either way.
But, as I say, it probably was illegal,
It had to happen, didn't it? A South African journalist and former referee
have called the move that led to Richie MCC3W'S match-winning try illegal.
If you want to get really picky, at the front of the line-out,
Boks hooker Bismarck du Plessis was offside;
another forward, Adriaan Strauss, was offside;
and Ruan Pienaar was offside trying to tackle Richie McCaw.
The real grey area in rugby is the breakdown - attack and D.
And having a really good knowledge of that is pretty key.
And a good knowledge of how to have an influence.
You're not breaking the laws or anything.
It's just the interpretation of what angles are acceptable.
(CROWD CHEER)
If you play by the laws, you'll amount to nothing.
To be a great number seven, you have to be prepared to step outside the laws of the game.
Everybody would say to me as a ref, 'How do you let him away with so-'P?
'How come he seems to get away with so much?'
And, you know, my response is, 'He just seems to know where the line in the sand is.'
He'll study the referees that he's going to have,
and he'll know what he may or may not be able to get away with.
Half of you says, 'Wow. That was amazing.'
And the other half, particularly if you're an Australian, goes,
'How is that cheating bastard getting away with that when we're not?'
You know, and he's got this angelic face and this big smile and all that sort of stuff
and speaks to them very respectfully, and you think, 'You smarmy bastard.'
(SHIP HORN HONKS)
(EXHALES)
Just before the game, I'll write down exactly the things I need to nail out on the field.
Um, writing down the same things most weeks.
The first thing I put is 'start again' and 'get involved early'.
The next point is, uh, 'work rate'. So a big part of my game is having a crack at their bail.
So, you know, whether it's your feet or your hands in there,
you get In there, and you try and slow it up best you can - legally.
And the other one's always thinking about 'get up and go' and 'change gear',
So that's, sort of, how I'm gonna play, and then I always have one 'calm, clear and decisive'.
So that's obviously as a captain, you want to be calm, be clear about what we're doing
and be really decisive, so don't sort of be wishy-washy. It's (CLICKS TONGUE).
And 'presence'. So rather than head down, you're up and you're big.
So that's a physical but also a mental presence.
You know, like, where your eyes are um, how you talk to the ref, how you engage with your mates.
That has a real mental presence.
And then the last couple is 'just play' and 'en}0y'.
And that's where I write down 'GAB' at the end too.
(LAUGHTER, CHATTER)
I had this training diary, and I was quite proud of the fact that I had been picked for a trial.
I was talking to my uncle about it and showing him, and he goes, 'WeH...
do you want to be an AH Black?'
'Oh yeah, of course I do.' Not thinking it was anything more than a bit of a dream.
You wanna be an All Black?
Just write down a plan, mate.
He goes, 'Well, write down how you would get there.'
So started putting down, well, you make the New Zealand under-19s in '99.
Under-21 s, 2001.
The New Zealand Colts, and then might get into the Canterbury 'A' team in 2002.
2003, Crusaders.
And then after 2003 World Cup, there'd be some guys moving on from the All Blacks.
There's gonna be gaps in the roster.
He goes, 'Well, if you're gonna have this line after the All Black,
you don't just wanna be an All Black; you wanna be a great All Black.
And was like, 'What?' (LAUGHS)
I was a bit embarrassed about even writing that. (CHUCKLES)
I Just wrote 'GAB' at the bottom.
(LAUGHS)
But you need to be skilled to play there.
(LAUGHTER)
The 1998 National First Fifteen Rugby Championships.
And look out for Richard McCoy.
was at a game between Rotorua Boys' and Otago Boys' High School.
My role at that time was academy manager.
So I thought I'd go out and have a wee look at the game
and see if there's any
talent there that we should possibly talk to and maybe get to come to Canterbury.
McCaw.
Sh»; mere, backs, came.
Good charge again by McCaw.
Didn't take too long to realise there was an exceptional talent In Ricco.
WeH, I think it hit the face of this player here, McCaw.
But what I saw that day was a young player who was totally courageous. He was into everything.
(WHISTLE TRILLS) It's a try!
McCaw goes over.
Well, hasn't number seven Richard McCaw had a very good game tonight?
I remember going back in and saying,
'Look, I don't care how much he costs, there's a guy out there we need to get here.
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
When I left school, I got the rugby scholarship,
and some of the advice I got was, 'Why are you wasting your time doing that?
'You'd be betler off focusing on getting a good degree.'
And I sort of got the impression people thought I was wasting, you know, talent or whatever,
uh, chasing sport.
When he first arrived, he was not the most talented athlete,
by any stretch of the imagination,
but what he did have was a massive desire to improve.
Oh, I guess we had a similar drive' You know, just being there wasn't good enough,
He was getting all these turnovers, and I could see all the older guys, especially the forwards,
were getting really annoyed with this- with this guy, who was not a very big guy,
and he was new to the team, and he was just being a real menace at training.
At one stage, I can remember Todd, Reuben Thorne and Scotty Robinson say,
'Look, you gotta do something about this guy, otherwise were gonna belt him.'
And said, 'Well, if you belt him, I'll belt you.'
And then went over to Richie and I said, 'For goodness' sake, son.
'Just let them win a couple of balls at the breakdown, would ya?'
Look at that desperate scrap for the ball there. Ripped away. Who's that?
McCaw. Oh, it's Richard McCaw. He's a brilliant young player.
Blair. McCaw.
Goes on his own, Try!
REPORTER: And another name in the spotlight - Richie McCaw.
And McCaw's gonna get another!
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
I must've played about eight of nine games
and played pretty well. Like, I knew I was new kid on the block.
REPORTER: Richard McCaw didn't arrive on the national scene -
he exploded on to it with a hat-trick of tries in Canterbury's demolition of...
...als0 got Richie McCaw. His name has really been bandied about down these parts,
And this young man has a big future in rugby.
Well, the baby face of Richard McCaw. Someone we'll see a bit of, perhaps.
I just got the pass and got across the line.
You're very modest. (LAUGHS) Ah, well...
I was aware that there was talk that maybe, you know, you're in the All Black frame.
But never really wanted to believe it.
RADIO: On behalf of the New Zealand Rugby Union,
I have great pleasure in naming the country's 30 best players
to tour Ireland, Scotland and Argentina in the AH Blacks. As you know...
Mum and Dad picked me up, and we went round to some of their friends' place,
and we sat and listened on the radio to the All Blacks being announced.
Loose forwards - Scott Robertson, Canterbury;
Paul Miller, Otago;
Marty Holah, Waikato;
Richard McCaw, Canterbury. (CHEERING, CLAPPING)
(LAUGHTER)
And as soon as I got named, their friends had a bottle of champagne they popped the cork on,
was like, 'Jeepers, that's pretty presumptuous.'
(EXCITED CHATTER, LAUGHTER)
(NEWS STING)
Captain Anton Oliver's Test side features only two first-time All Blacks,
including open-side flanker Richard McCaw.
(PLAYERS YELL)
I was playing alongside guys that a couple of years earlier I was watching at school on TV.
They were heroes. They were guys I probably would've gone up to to get an autograph.
To get out on that field, especially in a Test match, is gpnna be something quite unreal
and, you know, a dream come true, really.
(HUBBUB)
It's all very well being named as an All Black,
but you never called yourself one until you got on the field.
(CROWD ROAR)
(TENSE MUSIC)
ALL BLACKS: ii Hi!
# Ka mate' Ka mate. Ka or a.
3 mm (e kangala, puhuruhuru.
#Hi!#
(CROWD CHEER, APPLAU D)
The atmosphere is absolutely electric here.
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
And Andrew Mehrtens gets us going.
remember the whistle went to kick ofi, and I knew I could relax now.
At least I've been on the field as an All Black. Whatever happens now, it doesn't matter.
Here's the new cap - McCaw.
Runs into the two back-row forwards. McCaw and Robertson.
REPORTER: The All Backs surged back into the game with five second-half tries.
Over the loudspeaker they said the man of the match was me.
Man of the match, the 20-year-old,
I was like, 'Did I hear that right?'
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
PA: Richard McCaw, the New Zealand number seven, is man of the match.
I heard that. I thought, 'Crikey.' (CHUCKLES)
It felt like I was on a fast track. You look back now, and, yeah, it was really quick.
Do you still look back in, sort of, wonderment at the fact that you started with the Colts,
and at the end of the season, you're an AH Black'?
Yeah, well, it's beyond the, son of, wildest dreams back even in June, July.
I was trying to get myself into the NPC team and try and get some game time there,
to be on the AH Black tour at the end of the year is, was way beyond what I ever expected.
(SHEEP BLEAT)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSKI)
It was 2002, and I'd made the AH Blacks by this point, and we were leaving the farm,
and I was cleaning out my bedroom. Hound the bit of paper, and pulled it out.
And on the bit of paper it had all these milestones to become an All Black ,
and that was meant to be in 2004, I think it was.
In 2001, I was already an All Black, having ticked most of it off.
I was like, 'Wow.'
I thought, 'Well,the only thing left on there is to become a great AH Black.'
(INTRIGUING MUSKZ)
I guess, in the back of my mind, I had these ideas of what a great All Black should be.
And wrote 'GAB' - great All Black - but that was only the desire, that's the motivation to train.
And actually getting there or being called one of those,
it'd be nice, but it's not the be-all and end-all.
It's what you do and where you aim.
How's that'? One, twolhree, four, five. All good.
Five, four,
three, two,
one. You're on.
Thank you.
Welcome to the 177th edition of this great rivalry -
Australia v New Zealand.
Bledisloe one. First of two Test matches in the Bledisme series.
The Bledisloe Cup is back in town.
The All Blacks have held the Bledisloe Cup since 2003.
They've won the Rugby Championship for the last three years'
They've won 13 of the 19 titles since 1996.
We are talking about a very special rugby team, folks.
But as the Wallabies know, to be the best, you have to beat the best,
so that's the challenge in 2015 for Australia.
The All Blacks are out there lapping it up.
The great thing about Richie McCaw is he's got so many more
experienced players next to him. Kieran Read...
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD ROAR)
(TENSE MUSIC)
Oh, McCaw!
Maybe some nerves here, Rob. Could be, yes.
(TENSE MUSIC)
(FIRE ROARS)
(DRAMATIC MUSKZ)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
Yellow card.
Try!
(CROWD ROAR)
(FIREWORKS BOOM)
Less than 10 seconds to go,
So many of these Wallabies have been on the receiving end, time and time again.
(DRAMATIC MUSKZ)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER)
Seeing the Wallabies jumping around after the game...
Like, I stood out there just to take the medicine, because I knew it would
fire me up for this week.
And it's the right thing to do, you know. You respect the opposition.
They won, and that's what sports about, but
all it was doing was sharpening the axe for this week.
Oh, I've been pretty dirty all week, to be honest,
about the result. I hate losing, I really hate it.
And I hate it even more, losing to the Wallabies.
Like, Saturday night after the game,
I was, like, in bed just thinking about the things I should've done better
or, 'Why didn't I do this?' or whatever.
I think the longer you've been around and the
few losses you have, you remember them a lot.
And, you know,140-something games
and that was my 15th loss. Like, uh, it doesn't happen very often,
Chest out.
Hands behind your back.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS) Nice. Everybody got that?
(CROWD CHEER, YELL)
Merci Marseilles, pour votre bienvenue.
(CROWD CHEER, APPLAU D)
Xespere ave“...
I became captain in 2006'
felt we had a great team in terms of personnel, and we'd been winning right up to that point,
so I thought, 'Well, this is my chance, my moment, as a player.'
And for this team to deal with all the things that had-
in the last World Cups, we'd been pretty disappointing.
I thought, 'This is gonna be the moment.'
(MAN SPEAKS FRENCH)
The All Blacks are proving a big drawcard in France.
The All Black front row is widely regarded as the best in world rugby,
(MAN SPEAKS FRENCH)
The opportunity aso to end 20 years of anguish.
(MAN SPEAKS FRENCH)
Many are saying the only thing that'll beat the Atl Blacks
is the All Blacks. 20 years without...
(NR HORNS TOOT, CROWD CHATTER)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
Danie Caner gets this second period underway.
France, 40 minutes away from elimination in their own World Cup.
And New Zealand, 40 minutes away from booking their semi-final place against England.
30 minutes to g0, we were ahead in the game.
And then they got one chance to strike.
Stepping over the 22! Needs support,
Yannick Jauzion!
Jauzion for France!
The game is level again!
New Zealand say that was forward.
Well, that's one that will be debated at home in New Zealand by everybody.
Bang, they're ahead on the scoreboard.
Wow, this is not really happening the way it should.
Well, you can sense the change in atmosphere.
She's heart-attack city,
(CROWD GASP)
(TENSE MUSIC)
Well, some may say it's an omen.
(CROWD CHEER)
We could finish the day looking forward to a semi between England and France.
Who would've ever believed it at the start of this World Cup?
Not many in New Zealand. Not many in the world.
(TENSE MUSIC)
(CROWD CHEER)
You know, got down to the last two or three minutes, I was like, 'Jeepers, what do you do?
'Do you say we need a drop goal?' We hadn't really talked about how to do a drop goal.
Not got the legs.
It has not got the legs.
Well, there'll be some broken hearts here.
And a few guys started just looking at each other,
'This isn't the way ifs meant to be.'
That's when I started to worry.
It's all-or-nothing rugby now for New Zealand.
Last ball! Last! Last! Last!
And... time just run out.
Elissalde. He knows what he has to do. He has to find sanctuary. Sanctuary is the touch line.
Sanctuary is a World Cup semi-final.
And New Zealand, the country who seemed destined to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup,
are out at the quarter-final stage.
They have been beaten again!
It was just disbelief. You know, 'How has this happened?' You know, 'What's happened?'
(BREATH ES DEEPLY)
Well, Richie McCaw, youwe come straight off the pitch. That must be a terrible blow for you.
What's your immediate reaction?
Male, I'm not sure. Uh, (EXHALES) it was a hell of a Test match.
Um, (INHALES) yeah, Pm lost for words, really, uh...
Yeah, mate, oh, just one of those days that you wanna forget.
(POIGNANT MUSKZ)
I can remember the feeling in the changing room very vividly.
Like, it's the worst changing room We ever been in in my life, and I've been in a couple,
Nobody was taming. There was complete silence.
And some players were sitting facing the back of the cubicle,
didn't want to have eye contact with anybody else,
The press conference was probably 30, 40 minutes after the firm whistle.
You're looking at 20 television cameras
and probably 200 media.
Everybody agreed they were the right strategies in the group,
and we worked extremely hard on those strategies,
and they've been successful in Test match record over a long period of time.
It was a horrible mace to be. It was, 'Get us out of here as soon as we can.'
I've got to say, I- I thought we were ready and the boys were ready to play today,
and we just didn't put it out there.
And I remember- and it looks really bad -
but there's the one shot that went everywhere is when I went tike that.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK RAPIDLY)
And I heard all the clicks.
And t thought, 'Bugger, I've just given them something that I wish I hadn't .'
Today it is devastation, tomorrow bitterness, maybe even anger.
Now, this was, we were told, the best-prepared All Blacks team ever,
but unfortunately for them, they've scored the worst ever finish in All Black World Cup history.
There is little sympathy or understanding.
Three Cantabrians were in charge of the All Blacks, and they stuffed it up completely.
Careers hinge on World Cup results.
Has anyone fallen on the sword yet? No, Jenny-May, which is quite surprising.
Richie McCaw, he's the All Black captain, and he's gotta front.
You just can't perform that poorly without some ramifications.
Success is a lousy teacher.
And so 2007 was, you know, a watershed moment for his leadership.
It exposed a weakness that sometimes performance alone
wasn't enough to lead your men.
And that became a huge burden.
And he held that accountability. It was very personal for him.
We had lessons from '99 and 2003 that we ignored.
In terms of, you know, what was it that caused them to trip up
when they had a team that was good enough?
That repeated in 2007. That's the bit that hurt the most, I think.
(swans CHIRP)
I think one of the things I, um- I never really discussed with anyone is,
I guess, some of the doubts you have about
probably not so much as a player but more as a captain.
I didn't want to show any weakness around that.
I didn't want to let anyone know that I had doubts.
I remember going away and doing some flying, and I was sulking a bit.
It comes out more in silence than words.
I lust close off and just don't engage with people when get really, uh, wound up,
My family, we didn't really talk about it much.
It was, 'Oh well, you know, it's been and gone. Get on with it.'
And it's easy to say that, but underneath, you know, it's still, you know,"
I don't think, uh, we're very good at, uh, discussing, uh, those sort of things.
Yep.
(PLANE ENGINE HUMS)
(TOW ROPE PWGS)
(SERENE MUSKZ)
I knew that we had a team that was good enough to win the tournament,
But it didn't come down to what our talent was.
It came down to when the heat came on, we weren't able to find a way to win.
(SERENE MUSIC CONTINUES)
You know, so training harder or being fitter,
I don't think that would've made any difference that day.
I probably was naive in thinking, you know, 'l can play well whenever it counts.'
And perhaps over my firsl few years, I'd been able to do {hat to some degree.
But as a captain' I sort of had to admit
that t didn't have the tools tn the box when it came to handling pressure.
And, you know, that's where it became a bit like, 'Well, how am I gonna get that?'
Or is it just the fact I haven't got it, and that's it?
We need to not just pay lip service to the mental side or just say,
'Because we're gonna train harder, we're gonna be better.'
We need to actually do some work on addressing the elephant in the room.
All Blacks in three in a row now have not been able to handle it.
We are no good when it really all comes down to that one moment or that one day.
OK, now we've gotta find some people or put some time into not so much sweating
but actually sitting and doing some work on the mental stuff.
I felt like I almost had to start again in terms of the captaincy and go,
'So much to learn. Now let's go and do that.'
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
Sometimes there are moments that are so undeniable that you can't move past them.
Often that's adversity.
And sometimes in sport, it hits you in the face.
(CROWD ROAR)
First started working with Richie in around 2010.
The particular state of mind he had at that stage was, uh,
particularly redemption. He didn't want to give up,
At that stage, they're obviously thinking hard about the lessons from 2007,
The basic explanation is that processes - catching a ball, kicking a ball, running, passing -
things that are pretty much automatic, people try and over control,
because their mind goes to the outcome.
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
Scoreboards, clocks,
time running down, things not going our way, and so there's a sense of a loss of control.
He actually explained to me - and this is where I really enjoyed - what pressure is
and how it affects your body from a biology point of view, what your brain does.
And Must remember thinking, 'Wow, this is, um- it makes it real.'
You know? It's not as though we're trying to say that pressures not there, not gonna feel it-
everyone feels it - but how do you deal with it?
What you've got to focus on is your capacity to control your mind in any given situation,
If you're not in control of your mind, you're no good to us.
We place great emphasis on clear thinking under pressure, rather than just thinking positively.
Think about pilots. They don't prepare just for good flights.
They prepare for the bad weather,
the difficulties - mechanics» - and all those son of situations.
That's what we'd expect them to do.
For sports teams, if you deal with those moments better than other people,
then that's a huge advantage.
Richie's at the upper end of the scale in terms of his inquisitiveness, uh, his curiosity.
I think these are some of his most important features.
So he could see pretty quickly that there was huge benefit in exploring this space -
the dark side, what can go wrong.
And in those circumstances, how do you operate?
Either you see them as a threat or you see them as a great challenge.
And people like Richie thrive on that. They get that straight away.
(INTRIGUING MUSKZ)
(INTRIGUING MUSIC CONTINUES)
When I sometimes feel like the weighfs getting on my shoulders and
you get tense about n,
And that's actually quite uplifting.
The guys we're playing against will feel pressure too.
If we come and bring it, then they're gonna go, 'Well, how do we deal with pressure?'
So you put the pressure on them. That's the exciting part of sport, you know?
(CHATTER)
With the Bledisloe Cup on the line and this being the last Test before the start of the World Cup...
A record-breaking appearance for Richie McCaw.
It'll be his 142nd Test match,
and that's more than any other player anywhere.
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
want it really badly this week. Uh, gonna be my last game in New Zealand.
Playing at Eden Park, which to be honest,
is probably the favourite place to play as an All Black.
There's same pretty special memories there.
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
DONALD: I find it really hard to believe what I'm seeing.
For about the two hours beforehand, I'm just shaking. (CHUCKLES)
I can't even hold a drink, I'm shaking that much. I still shake. Yeah.
(TENSE MUSIC)
I'd love to finish off as an All Black with a Bedisloe in the cupboard.
And, you know, in October it would be nice to have that cup too.
You know, I'd be lying if I said it doesn't mean a hell of a lot.
(CROWD CHEER)
(CROWD ROAR)
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
CROWD: Five, four, three,
two, one!
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER)
(INTRIGUING MUSKZ)
The value of a number seven,
when the opposition has got the ball, your job is to get it back somehow
or make it tough for the opposition to play.
And if you do that well, you're gonna frustrate the heH out of them,
I've been against number sevens that frustrate the hell out of ya.
STEVE: He's always thinking about what's happening next,
And that's a quality that you see in the great players.
He's not having to see it happen and then go and react.
It's about, 'OK, it's unfolding. What am I gonna do here?'
Bang. He's in the right place. He's anticipated it.
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
Good players, and the good players that have instinct, will straight away see the picture of,
'That's probably where the collision is gonna happen, so I'm gonna go straight there.'
And so you're arriving as the tackle's happening.
That's how you beat opposition. Rather than being the fastest,
you actually run the shortest distance.
(MUSIC BUILDS)
And that will be that.
That is all she wrote,
as the All Blacks retain the Bledisloe Cup.
(CROWD CHEER)
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
Never ever...
seen that at Eden Park before for a player.
(CROWD CHEER)
It was pretty cool that 40-odd-thousand people hung around and gave you a clap
for that asl game in New Zealand.
Yeah, it was... Like, even when I talk about it now, I got a bit of a lump in the throat.
(CROWD CHEER)
It's moments like that make everything you've done seem worthwhile
and you feel proud of that.
And, uh, because of that, there are a few emotions.
Probably in the past I would've just supressed all them and just been st-
And I still was pretty straight, really, um,
but, uh, I knew it was probably- didn't hurt to show a little bit.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
(CHATTER)
Gemma, you look beautiful.
Can I ask what's the plan with hockey this year?
Um, we've got the Olympic qualifier in June, and that's our next pinnacle,
so hoping to qualify then for Rio. That's the plan.
Hey, you guys have a good night. Thank you. Cheers. Good on ya.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
Over a lot of the rugby career, I never shared a lot with anyone.
I think that's one of the things I've appreciated lately is being able to share some of that stuff,
when things are going good or bad, you can actually,
I dunno, halve the problem by whinging, um...
You gonna eat a whole rack'? Nah, but you might as well cook both of them if...
The pretty cool thing about Gemmais she understands
what it takes to be a top sportsperson.
I have got a good peeler. Eh?
I play hockey for the Black Sticks. Have for the last eight years.
Before the last Olympics, I got a message on Facebook, of all places,
and he just said, 'Good luck in London.'
I actually forgot to reply to him, because we were so busy,
and then we lost the semi-final, which was devastating, you know.
And then he wrote a really nice message,
basically saying that they'd been in a similar position,
um, in 2007, being knocked out of the World Cup,
and, um, he knows that deep, um, you know, devastating feeling,
No pudding, though, eh? Only for you. Not for me'
Then, no, I won't have any.
You know, we're quite old-fashioned, just the way we approach life.
Our friends and family are really important.
But the most extraordinary thing about him is that he's quite ordinary,
(LAUGHS) I actually mean that in the nicest way possible.
(TV PLAYS)
These ones are hard today. Typical.
(LAUGHS)
Just today or every day? Yeah, well."
I think you gotta be competitive to make the top. She's definitely competitive.
Here we go. I got one.
We're very competitive, but it's not like, 'First to get ready, out the door,' you know?
I don't often win, if I'm totally honest,
But you try beat him and let me know how you get on,
I started to become a bit more aware that, you know,
I've had my blinkers on and not allowed anyone anywhere near me.
I love what I do, but rugby's not everything.
And, you knew, it took me a while to understand that, I suppose.
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
The AH Blacks are heavy favouriles to win the cup for just the second time.
Failures to win the Webb Ellis Trophy have come to define the All Blacks.
Destiny beckons for captain McCaw.
DANIEL: As a mate and a player playing alongside him,
I just thought that his focus was he's gonna do anything he can
to get this team to win the World Cup in 2011.
He was just so intense and so focused on that.
It was hard to have a normal conversation with him
unless it wasn't about the team succeeding or rugby,
It's like- I felt like I'd almost lost my mate,
You know, I was questioning myself. I know the coaches were probably doing the same.
And the performances started to be better and better, and I felt we made progress,
but I really didn't know if any lessons had been learnt, cos we still hadn't really been tested,
when it really all came down to it.
(NEWS STING)
New Zealand will play host to France in the Rugby Union World Cup final.
The All Backs go into the match as strong favourites,
They're the men on whose shoulders rest the hopes of an entire nation,
but the pressure is intense.
For almost a quarter of a century,
their illustrious predecessors have tried and failed to win rugby's greatest prize.
...carried on by Shelford. The drive on for Kirwan.
This is what the country is desperate to see a repeat of -
1987, and New Zealand beat France to win the veryfirst World Cup, on home soil,
(CROWD CHEER)
World Cup winners!
(MAN SPEAKS FRENCH)
(LAUGHS)
If there's ever a game you wanted to play as a young fulla,
it would be a World Cup final at Eden Park for the All Blacks.
Well, it's the last thing the All Blacks need - key players struck down by injury.
The injury gods have been far from charitable to the All Blacks' captain.
I don't think I understood the extent of the problem I had with my foot, so...
I just sorta chose to kinda ignore it.
Very early on we made the diagnosis that he had a stress fracture on the outside of the foot.
It would've been very painful, and unfortunately, he kept really reaggravating it,
and some extra little fractures were actually happening in game.
We aH knew it was broken, but no one was prepared to ask that question,
because then we would've had to morally have done something about it, so we all chose not lo.
(PLAYERS YELL, GRUNT)
Meaning about it amongst the team, all it would do was get them sidetracked.
They knew there was something wrong, cos I couldn't tram.
But I just wanted to fill them with confidence so they didn't have that to worry about.
Fool's good. Um... yep, no, really good. And it's just one of those things, you know.
(SIREN WAILS)
I remember Cert Evans was great in that just talked through, visualise some of the scenarios.
I was a little bit saying, 'Well, jeez, this is uniair.'
He said, 'Oh, it's just there to test ya, and actually to see if you can deal with it.'
Did he wobble? Of course.
Did he wish it was a different way? Of course.
He's an ordinary man, but he was doing something extraordinary there,
in the sense that most people don't have that type of threshold.
Pain is one of the greatest diverters of attention,
in terms of closing your mind down and thinking clearly about pressurised situations.
(TENSE MUSIC)
Now heading for the biggest game of their life.
The All Blacks and France meeting for the sixth time in Rugby World Cups. That's a record.
France have knocked New Zealand out of two of the last three World Cups.
I was unsure all week as to whether I'd actually be able to play.
I told everyone I could, but I was worried, because it was really not in very good shape,
and it was sore, and I was like, 'Am I going to be able to block that out to be able to play?'
DEB: HI coud get him to the start of the game and get him out there,
then we'd just get into the rhythm of the game,
and then we would deal with what we had to do afterwards.
(CROWD ROAR)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(TENSE MUSIC)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(PLAYERS YELL)
(CROWD CHEER)
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
(CROWD CHEER)
Dusautoir, the captain!
This game is on a knife edge,
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
In terms of going to dark places, that was right up there.
And Weepu kicks off, and, oh, he's overdone it.
Another bad mistake.
France have got their backs up.
was like, 'Wow, this is what I've prepared for.'
(CROWD CHEER)
The last four years, I've prepared myself for this next 20 minutes.
It's called pressure. Just a battle of attrition.
One point.
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
That's the type of mind set of going to dark places.
When it really really hurls, but you know deep down you could gel there.
Ball been turned over by the looks of things.
Oh, McCaw caused the turnover there.
Boy, this game is brutal.
DEB: Towards the end of the game, I went overto him,
and I remember asking him if he thought he needed to leave the field,
And even at that time, with what was going on, he looked at me as if I was stupid,
as if, you know, 'Why would I possibly think of leaving the field?'
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD ROAR)
mean, even if it's the last piece of energy you've got,
you just use that until there's nothing left.
The body will do what the mind says.
(CROWD CHEER)
CERI: He had envisaged those moments.
And he wanted to be present. He wanted hands on the ball.
And even the area of the pitch and what he would be doing at that time, he had imagined.
And he'd done that in a really deep and profound way.
Instead of being scared of it, I was embracing it. Bring it on,
(CROWD CHEER)
To try and get the ball, they had to offend.
(WHISTLE TRILLS) And they're offside!
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
(CROWD ROAR, WHISTLE TRILLS) And the All Blacks are the world champions!
(CROWD CHEER, PLAYERS YELL)
Well, some are too exhausted to really celebrate as yet. That'll come later.
(CROWD CHEER)
(CROWD ROAR)
CERk That was the moment that I think gave him such trust in the process.
(FIREWORKS CRACKLE)
(PANTS)
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
Oh jeez. How am I gonna do that again?
I was really concerned about having that same draining feeling that I got from 2011,
And actually a discussion I had with Ceri, and I said,
'Have you got any ideas about how you look at that?'
And he thought about it and he said, 'Actually, if you try and repeat it and do it the same,
'that's a recipe for disaster. You actually have to do it different.'
I remember going away from that conversation actually feeling really good about it.
Like, it has to be different. It's got to be different. I want it to be different.
And that made it quite exciting about, 'How are we gonna do this?'
Now what's the scenario for going through the whole process again?
It's one thing winning at home,
but we know that the All Blacks haven't been successful in northern hemisphere tournaments.
And no other team has repeated back to back.
So how you frame that up becomes a very interesting thing.
There's no doubt that as time goes on, you keep looking for that bigger challenge.
So winning a World Cup after winning one four years earlier, that's a
bigger challenge than what it was.
That's what excites ya.
He's almost like an explorer, in a way. He wants to- He likes the unchartered territory.
He wants to go to places and take the team to places that no one else has been before.
And in many ways, that idea of being first is a different one to just winning.
I think the key to whatever you do in life is being able to have a chaHenge in front of ya
and then be learning.
Like, if you stop learning, you know, you get sick of what you're doing,
whereas you can be better at it, that's what keeps you turning up,
(DRAMATIC MUSKZ)
Almost half a million visitors are expected into the UK to watch the 48 matches.
Ifs the biggest sporting event to be staged here since the Olympics,
The All Blacks have touched down in London ahead of their World Cup campaign,
Can the All Blacks now deliver in the northern hemisphere?
They crashed out in the quarter-finals when the event was in France in 2007.
All eyes are now on the AH Blacks' flanker Richie McCaw,
who will captain the side in his fourth Rugby World Cup.
He could become the first player to lift the Web Ellis Cup for the second time.
You know, thinking about outcomes and what it's gonna be like at the end,
you take your eye off the ball, what you gotta do first.
And, uh, you know, our first game next week, we gotta get right.
If you're gonna win this thing, you've gotta give absolutely everything and more
and just go to your Hmns.
It's a bit like those big-wave surfers.
They wanna be on the 50ft wave, you know, where they live or die.
And they wanna be there and test themselves. Well, that's the same as I see myself.
Uh, I wanna be in those situations to test yourself. That's where the biggest rewards are.
Playing the World Cup's like getting yourself in one those waves
and finding a way to make sure you live,
PA: In six weeks' time, one team will take its place in history.
(CROWD CHEER)
It's up to every one of us to raise the roof on each match in this unforgettable journey.
The players have earned it, the nations deserve it, and the fans expect it.
We're ready. Game on,
(CROWD CHEER)
Well, this afternoon, Wembley Stadium will host the biggest crowd in Rugby World Cup history.
(CROWD CHEER IN DISTANCE)
(CROWD CHEER)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(TENSE MUSIC)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CROWD CHEER)
(CROWD GROAN, WHISTLE TRILLS)
Gotta check, I'm having a quick look at foul play for a trip.
Is that correct? Trip. Correct.
Wow, if this is a trip, this could be serious for someone.
Well, it's Richie McCaw. Well, he swung a leg out there. No question.
And we're seeing the seven black there trip the player who takes the tap?
Correct. So seven goes to the bin.
Richie McCaw, the All Black captain, is going t0 the sin bin.
(CROWD BOO)
Just before half-time, I got sin-binned.
We were under a bit of pressure for that
period just before, and that was the reason I got frustrated.
And Argentina lead the defending champions!
I know when I was sitting on the sideline, I was really like, 'Jeez, what am I doing?'
And then I was like, 'Well, it's happened.'
And I had to get back for that next 40 minutes and play well.
Like, if I'd sat there for 10 minutes and just got all defensive or down on yourself,
welt, that wasn't gonna help.
(TENSE MUSIC)
McCaw is back on.
(PLAYERS YELL) Once!
McCaw. Aaron Smith!
Brilliant! (CROWD CHEER)
Cool heads under pressure in the second half have seen the All Blacks home by 26 points to 16.
When you were getting booed from the crowd there, is that
acceptable to you or disappointing?
Well, I was I was sitting in the sin bin at the time, so I didn't really have a lot of-
a lot of, uh, comeback with that. Uh, it was dumb that I was sitting there.
Pd, uh- You know, it was a dumb mistake I'd made.
(TYPING)
t was, of course, anything but dumb,
He hasn't become the most decorated rugby player by being dumb.
He doesn't have a dumb instinct in him.
But that was how he portrayed the incident - a reflex thing.
Yep.
He's admitted it. It's been admitted since. He knew what he was doing.
He's not a saint. He's a human being. That's the point.
Bind!
(PLAYERS GRUNT, YELL)
(WHISTLE TRILLS) McCaw holds it up,
and Dane Coles is in for the try.
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
There's been a bit of tension, knowing the World Cup's different.
We've seen, you know, the pool round, South Africa getting beaten by Japan.
England, who potentially couldwe won the thing, haven't made the quarter-finals.
For England, it was never meant to end like this.
The boys all see that, and I think that adds a little bit of reality and tension.
No, cos we'll probably- you'll bunt, so you'll get that clean.
A few of us were feeling like we're not quite nailing it.
And the fact the boys were honest, I think shares that problem and you go,
'Well, OK, we've got to make sure we keep each other in the present moment.'
Can you believe it? We are playing the French at Cardiff again.
Now, I've been around the players the last 24 hours.
You notice a definite edge in this All Blacks team.
This is knockout football, and it is France.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
It's special, because we- we won against the All Blacks.
think there's not so many teams who won against them,
and, uh, especially in the French team history.
And t think that French people really like this kind of moment,
(CHATTER)
There's been a great relationship between the two countries for a long long time,
and apart from the Rainbow Warrior'
you know, we've probably been on the same page most of the time, so...
Uh, the thing your old players bring you -
if they're in form, and our guys are in form - is experience.
And you can'! buy that.
You know' when you're under the pump,
you need people in that group that can cope with it.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
CERI: I'm aware that people are saying it's a chance to revisit 2007,
We've actually discussed how many games he might have left.
Potentially, he's got three.
It could be one. So this could be the last game.
And the only way of dealing with that situation
is to actually focus on this as the last game,
because then there's no regrets.
If your last game you have for the AH Blacks is at the World Cup,
you're either gonna be extremely happy or extremely disappointed.
There's no real in-betweens, is there?
(GULL owes)
You could get scared of this weekend or embrace it,
You know, that's the- this is the 50ft wave I've been waiting for.
There's the odd moment where you feel a wee bit; I feel a wee bit on edge,
but, then I've got to remember that I wanna be here' I wanna be in these situations.
So it's exciting. You just wanna get there. I just wanna bring it on.
Here we go. Last 10. Last 10 on alpha. Three, two, one. Coming down to one.
We continue our build-up to this quarter-final of Rugby World Cup 2015,
The All Blacks in Cardiff again against the French.
Yes, there is a glitch in the matrix.
This is one of those games that spooks New Zealand fans.
(CHATTER IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH)
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
(CROWD CHEER, CHANT, WHISTLE)
I knew that the intensity was gonna be up a massive level,
and, you know, you have that question tike,
'Are we gonna be able to turn the tap on and hit it the way we needed to?'
So that's what put me a bit on edge, and I know the team was a little bit nervous as well.
(CROWD CHEER, CHANT)
Le Bleu of France, the All Blacks of New Zealand have moved in for the night.
Who will be left standing?
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD ROAR)
(CROWD ROAR, GASP)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER, WHISTLE)
Stop it!
(CROWD CHEER, WHISTLE)
BECK. play on!
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
Whoo-hoo!
What is going on out here'?
(CROWD CHEER)
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER)
In the second half, they certainty knew that they were beaten,
and our boys were running round with some smiles on their faces.
Look at him. It's not often you see Captain Tackles get up and clap,
This is a rout.
People have been asking when the real All Blacks were going to stand up,
I think we have our answer.
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD CHEER)
Their highest ever score over France.
And given the significance of the game, the venue, the history,
uh, you can't ask for much more than that.
The guys that were there in '07, you know, I had a couple of emails just to say thanks,
Uh, so, you know, it was quite significant in that regard.
(CROWD CHEER)
(TRAIN APPROACHES)
Once we left the ground, you know, you had the enjoyment of what we'd done,
then reality starts to sink in - we haven't won the thing yet,
Even when I'm not thinking about it, you still have the butterflies in your stomach at times.
(SIGHS) As the week goes on, you become more and more focused.
And think especially, uh, at a World Cup, you know, your knockout phase,
where, your four years of effort and work and planning
comes down to one 80-minute performance.
And, uh, that in itself, when you think about that, it's quite scary.
And all the other stuff around, so whether it be, uh,
your friends and family that are around you,
you become a wee bit withdrawn and pretty focused on what you're doing,
Like, today went and had lunch in Richmond with Gemma,
and she probably thought that I was a bit on edge, which I apmogised for,
but that's what happens when you're building up to a big event like Saturday,
(DUCKS QUACK, THUNDER RUMBLES)
Thunderously grey clouds above Twickenham right now,
matching what we're seeing on the pitch,
with, uh, what, six and a half minutes to go?
Well, there'll be no surprise at what's happened here this afternoon.
This is as tight as it comes.
South Africa within one score.
At the moment, New Zealand lead by two.
(CROWD CHEER)
Now South African voices screaming in hope.
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
(CROWD CHEER)
The All Blacks shove them back.
(CROWD CHEER)
The Springboks, they know they're just one penalty away from losing this.
(INTENSE MUSKZ)
And Sam Whitelock soaring highest.
That is priceless.
(DRAMATIC MUSKZ)
Well, you'd have to say that New Zealand is running the clock down now.
Theyfll be so keen to just hold on, hold on.
(DRAMATIC MUSKZ)
(CLOCK TICKS)
(WHISTLE TRILLS, CROWD ROAR) Matfield loses it. It's all over!
That's what champions are made of!
PA: New Zealand 20, South Africa 18.
So much respect between those two coaches. They are firm friends.
STEVE: The game could've gone either way, and we're just thankful and humbled
that we've been given the opportunity to go through to the final next week.
Steve, just one thing that just was so impressive was
the way that New Zealand ran down that clock
in that last nine minutes and were just so controlled and so composed.
Uh, yeah, well, experience allows that to happen,
and we've probably got the greatest skipper in the world,
but we won't get ahead of ourselves there.
And it's ironic. In 2007, as a young captain, he was criticised a lot.
And I know that hurt him,
and he's grown.
CROWD SING: # Go!
# Go Richie McCaw!
# Go Richie McCaw! # (THUNDER RUMBLES)
Hi.
You good?
The game last night was, uh- you gave us a wee bit of anxiety.
Wasn't that bad, was it?
Well, I think they were within reach, which made- you know, one try away, which I think...
And a penalty. Yeah.
What did, um, Hanson say at half-time'?
Oh, it wasn't too bad. We just...
knew that they weren't gonna stick with us, but we kept them in it a bit.
But we had control of it. You got the tries.Yeah.
But our discipline buggered us a wee bit.
Why is that?
Knowing this will be my last game, and, uh, I get a sense, you know,
from your family that it's sort of relieved that we've made the final,
whereas, to me, it's only just beginning and this is when the real, uh-
the real champion teams and players stand up and do the job.
There was a big wall up at the final whistle.
So I don't want to think anything past that. So whether ifs 80, 81,82,
even if it goes to extra time,
I'm having no thoughts past that. And, uh, I just wanna make sure I'm...
ready to, uh...
to naH it.
All up in here. (SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE)
Yeah. There.
McCaws achievements have surpassed anyone that's ever played the game.
And it won't be a disgrace to McCaw if he was to lose,
but that last memory cannot be - cannot be -
of getting beaten by the Aussies, of all people, at Twickenham.
It's, uh- It's inconceivable, even to a Pom. I'm getting quite nervous about it.
Now, the trans-Tasman tension has reached boiling point as the
mighty Wallabies prepare to take on the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final.
READS: The Richetly grub stands in our Wallabies' way.
Richetty grub being, of course, McCaw there.
That sort of stuff, how does it go down in New Zealand?
Water off the back. We've stopped referring to Richie as the best player in ihe world.
We're now just calling him the GOAT - the greatest of all time.
(BELLS PEAL)
It's the World Cup final we've been waiting 28 years for -
the Wallabies and the All Blacks to decide the best on the planet. This is Rugby HQ London.
Even the Poms are saying that these two teams deserve to be in the final.
They've been clearly the best two teams in the tournament-
the most adventurous, taking the most risks and shown the most skill.
The All Blacks have relied on playing a high-pace game of rugby,
Um, you know, some question marks around the age of their forward pack.
They've really shown that they've got the capabilities to still play this high-tempo game,
I think the Wallaby team can match that game.
They're the two best teams in the world, both in really good form,
going to play 80 minutes of football, and it's going to be tight.
The two teams have payed each other twice this year. They have won one game each.
Many of the familiar men in black are on their final mission.
But any talk of fairy-tale finishes or going outwith a bang
is quickly silenced. For these players who just love playing the game,
it's time for one last ride. The final is also thought
to be where Richie McCaw's All Black adventure ends.
...already one of the most iconic teams in sport.
The end of an era for All Blacks rugby,
This is probably the best prepared All Black team I've ever seen.
Sure is going to be a mouth-watering World Cup final,
(swans CHIRP)
(ETHEREAL MUSKZ)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(swans CRY)
(INTRIGUING MUSKZ)
(EXCITED CHATTER)
£1 face paint!
New Zealand and Australia!
£1 face paint!
New Zealand and Australia!
(HORN HONKS)
(EXCITED CHATTER)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSKZ)
What you are seeing are the two best teams in the world, both in really good form,
going to play 80 minutes of football, and it's going to be tight.
(NR HORN HONKS)
Now thetrteam is on the verge of history, not just this possible third title,
but also the opportunity to become the first to retain the cup.
CROWD CHANT: All Blacks! All Blacks!
(CHANTING CONTINUES IN DISTANCE)
(JET ENGINES ROAR)
(CROWD CHEER IN DISTANCE)
As a little fulla, I just imagined
running around chasing the ball with the All Black jersey on,
From what I imagined, it was better.
It's one of the best things you can do is, uh,
pull that jersey on and run out for your country.
Like, that's- that's what gives you goosebumps.
(CROWD CHEER)
(FIRE ROARS)
Kia rite! Kia rite!
(ALL BLACKS YELL, HISS)
ALL BLACKS: Hi!
(CROWD CHEER)
“mhakawhenua am aha...
ALL BLACKS: Hi aue, hi!
(CROWD CHEER)
Km koueama
e ngunguru nei!
# Hi! Au, au, aue, ha!
# Hi!
K0 Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei!
# Hi! Au, au, aue, ha!
# Hi!
I ahaha!
#A ka tu le ihiihi!
It Ka 'm Xe wanaw anaX!
# Ki runga I te rangi, e tu iho nei,
# tu iho nei, hi!
Ponga m!
# Kapa o Pango, aue hi!
Ponga m!
# Kapa o Pango, aue hi! #
(ALL BLACKS YELL, HISS)
(CROWD ROAR)
New Zealand against Australia in the World Cup final.
(WHISTLE TRILLS)
(CROWD ROAR)
(SMOOTH MUSKZ)
(CROWD CHEER)
(SMOOTH MUSKZ)
(MUSIC BUILDS)
(CROWD CHEER)
(FUNK MUSIC)
Aaron Smith.
Conrad Smith.
Aaron Smith. Here comes McCaw!
Milner-Skudder.
Absolutely typical.
(CROWD ROAR)
(FUNK MUSIC)
Ma'a Nonu might go and score here!
Drew on the tackle.
The All Blacks are on their way.
Pocock! (WHISTLE TRILLS)
They had to score there!
And it's Kuridrani! (WHISTLE TRILLS)
(FUNK MUSIC)
Carter goes for the drop goal.
(MUSIC BUILDS)
It's on the edge for Carter. Carter from New Zealand.
Ooh, it's gonna be close.
It's there!
(FUNK MUSIC CONTINUES)
it Qummh.
3 Ouch, ooooh.
# Ooh.
It Qummh.
3 Ouch, ooooh.
# Ooh. #
(CROWD ROAR)
(WHISTLE TRILLS) H's New Zealand.
(CHEERING)
The All Blacks,
still the kings of world rugby,
Is this the greatest ever era,
even for New Zealand?
(CROWD ROAR)
(CHEERING, YELLING)
I just didn't want that feeling to finish, you know, out in the field,
And it sort of hit me a little bit after the final whistle
I was standing there, and all of a sudden I was like, 'This is the last time -
'the last time I'll wear an All Black jersey.'
I still don't want it to end, to be honest.
Um, look at the moment, I'm still part of this team.
Pm gonna enjoy today, and, you know, how could you get enough of this?
(FIREWORKS BOOM, CRACKLE)
(CROWD CHEER)
(FIREWORKS BOOM, CRACKLE)
(CROWD CHEER)
(YOUNG RICHIE PERFORMS 'KA MATE' HAKA)
(PLAYERS YELL, CHEER)
CROWD CHANT: All Blacks! All Blacks!
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
(CHATTER) Richie.
(CROWD CHEER)
Richie. Richie.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
Richie.
(EXCITED CHATTER)
Congratulations.
(CHEERING)
(TIMMY TRUMPETS 'FREAKS' PLAYS)
I- The bass and the tweeters make the speakers go to war)-
h Ah, the mighty trumpet brings the freaks out to the floor}
I- The bass and the tweeters make the speakers go to war)-
h Ah, the mighty trumpet brings the freaks out to the floor}
J" Tell me. tell me, where the freaks at}
J“ Tell me, tell me, where the freaks at}
9 freaks at, freaks at, freaks at, freaks at, fr-fr-fr-fr-fr-frei
I Tell rne where the freaks at}
(PULSATING MUSIC)
(CHEERING)
Where's the lid? Where's the lid?
(CHEERING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(CHATTER)
ALL SING: I'. .e nga iwi. Kia tapatahi. Ki a kotahi ra ♪
I Tatou tatou eJ
I Tatou tatouJ
9 Tahi, ma, toru, wha. Hi aue, hi! I
(CHEERING)
(POIGNANT PIANO MUSKZ)
The guys that are moving on, uh, we all had a chance to have a chat,
just to reflect a wee bit on what it's meant.
When you play, you don't play for anything but to earn the respect
and the trust of your mates beside ya.
And just the fact that you're never gonna be able to sit in that circle again after a Test,
cos that's a pretty special thing that you can't explain to anyone what that feeling is.
And we had a tight bunch of blokes that you'd trust.
And that's,“ you know, what I've been actually proud to have been a part of and be able to lead.
(REFLECTIVE MUSKZ)
(CROWD CHEER)
(REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
Like, physically, I could carry on,
but it's the mental side that I know that I don't wanna be here longer than I should.
And, you know, I've been doing it for 15 years, 140-something times,
uh, it just gets to the point where you know you don't need to do that any more.
(CROWD CHEER)
I always wondered when I've talked to people when I was younger, they said, 'Oh, you'll know.'
And I thought, 'How do you mean you'll know?' But you do,
Yep. I'm done.
(SERENE MUSKZ)
(MAJESTIC MUSKZ)
(MAJESTIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
(LORDE'S 'EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD')
I Help me make the most of freedom
.' and of pleasure)-
9 Nothing ever lasts forever)
I Everybody wants to rule the world)-
I There's a room where the light won't find you)
.'Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down)-
I When they do, I'll be right behind you)
9 So glad we've almost made it)
I So sad we had to fade it}
I Everybody wants to rule“;-
.' the world. J'-
(GENTLE MUSKI)
(swans CHIRP)
I'll do the back one now.
(CLATTERING)
Just finished carrying that bundle of food.
What?
We're making a movie.
(BABBLES) Jack in the box.
(memes)
(DISTANT CHATTER)
(SHEEP BLEAT)
Run. Go Canterbury!
(PLAYERS YELL) Come on, reds! Push!
(PLAYERS YELL) Oh, look. They're pushing.
Yeah, go yellow! Go yellow! (PLAYERS YELL)
Where are ya, Richard? There ya go,
Hello.
Wave to the camera.
(Swans)
Hello.
This is of his face.
(PLAYERS YELL)
(LAUGHTER)
Gotta show how much dirt you got on ya.
(CHATTER)
(GENTLE MUSKI)