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Defeated all Blacks are being offered grief counselling by their "mental skills coach", Gilbert Enoka, to help them "work through" the devastating World Cup loss to France.
In the wake of the All Blacks' worst-ever Cup campaign, New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Jock Hobbs said it was "imperative" steps were taken to ensure members of the side "were able to move on mentally" and were not "isolated or left alone".
"Yes there has been some special care taken," Hobbs told the Yahoo!Xtra website.
Graham Henry's side - already under fire from many New Zealand rugby supporters who say they're too pampered and choke on the big occasion - will be encouraged to share how they are feeling with someone they trust and "to let the emotion run freely through these times".
Some players have already reacted badly to the shock World Cup exit with makeshift centre Mils Muliaina breaking down in tears and winger Doug Howlett taking out his frustrations on two cars during a drunken rampage in London.
Enoka told the Herald on Sunday that counselling would be available to the players "for as long as it takes".
He described how he and the team had in place plans for "riding and dealing with waves of emotion" and how it was important they got back to their families.
"The nest," he said, "becomes a major sanctuary."
Enoka - who said he needed to be called a 'mental skills coach' because he was not a licensed psychologist - told the Herald on Sunday of his methods to help the team move on - including spending more time with family and making sure they "take control" of their situation.
"We needed our men to get back to their families and feel the power that family and close friends give you as you work through such times," he said.
Sporting icons like Graham Lowe were sceptical about the move.
The former Kiwis coach said he preferred the way losses were dealt with in his day.
"[In my day] if you won you got more kisses and cuddles than you could imagine. If you lost you got a flogging with barbed wire," he said.
"I admit I'm 61 years old and I'm from the old school [but] one of the biggest problems in sport in New Zealand is there are too many academics and psychologists involved who think it's time for a month off work if they get a paper cut under their fingernail - they don't know what pain feels like."
Coach Graham Henry is supportive of the team's use of a grief counsellor and says it is nothing new for the All Blacks.
"As far as I'm concerned it's not an issue and I think people are taking things a little bit too far."
Meanwhile, All Black halfback Byron Kelleher has revealed that captain Richie McCaw took the field against France in the ill-fated World Cup quarter-final carrying a calf injury and after a viral infection.
