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CARDIFF - Graham Henry didn't realise the rugby league World Cup final was on - but his players did and said the Kiwis' stunning upset of the Kangaroos provided them with added motivation before the All Blacks beat Wales 29-9 here today.
The bulk of the squad watched their league compatriots surge to a thrilling 34-20 triumph at Brisbane over breakfast in their Cardiff hotel in what hooker Keven Mealamu described as the ideal start to the day.
"It was really inspirational, the boys really hopped up after watching that, it was a great start to the day," he said.
Captain Richie McCaw said the Kiwis' tenacity had also served as a timely reminder despite the All Blacks going into the third leg of their Grand Slam attempt as overwhelming favourites.
"It was great to see. Everyone had written them off coming into the game .... and for them to then go out and play with that passion. We talked about it as a forward pack, we said it was the standard of passion we needed," said McCaw, who was named man of the match after the All Blacks notched their 20th successive win over the Six Nations champions.
"They were stimulated by that performance and it probably put a wee bit of an edge on our guys," Henry added.
Meanwhile, blindside flanker Jerome Kaino said the All Blacks craved a similar feeling to the unbridled joy expressed by the Kiwis players and fans after the fulltime hooter at Suncorp Stadium.
"We want a similar feeling, the boys know we're just a week away" he said, referring to their tour finale against England at Twickenham next Saturday (3.30amSunNZT).
Should the All Blacks defeat last year's beaten World Cup finalists, New Zealand will have achieved their third Grand Slam over the Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales since the initial attempt in 1905.
- NZPA
