But, despite the agony of their semifinal defeat loss to England the night before, the All Blacks are intent of putting in a performance they can be proud of when they face Wales at Tokyo Stadium on Friday night. For several, including skipper Kieran Read and coach Steve Hansen, it will be the last time they are closely involved with the All Blacks.
"We're playing, obviously, so we will treat it like any test match," Read said. "It will be a bit different for us but we'll prepare as well as we can and perform as best we can. We're All Blacks so it's a chance for us to pull on the jersey again.
"For some of us it may be our last chance. There are a few things there what we'll work through this week and come Friday we'll be ready to go."
The two sides have met 34 times, with New Zealand winning on 31 occasions. Wales have claimed only three victories - the last coming on 19 December 1953 in Cardiff.
Squads:
All Blacks: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Ben Smith, 13. Ryan Crotty, 12. Sonny Bill Williams, 11. Rieko Ioane, 10. Richie Mo'unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Kieran Read (c), 7. Sam Cane, 6. Shannon Frizell, 5. Scott Barrett, 4. Brodie Retallick, 3. Nepo Laulala, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Joe Moody
Reserves: 16. Liam Coltman, 17. Atu Moli, 18. Angus Ta'avao, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Matt Todd, 21. Brad Weber, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Jordie Barrett
Wales: 15. Hallam Amos, 14. Owen Lane, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12. Owen Watkin, 11. Josh Adams, 10. Rhys Patchell, 9. Tomos Williams, 8. Ross Moriarty, 7. James Davies, 6. Justin Tipuric, 5. Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4. Adam Beard, 3. Dillon Lewis, 2. Ken Owens, 1. Nicky Smith
Reserves: 16. Elliot Dee, 17. Rhys Carre, 18. Wyn Jones, 19. Jake Ball, 20. Aaron Shingler, 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Dan Biggar, 23. Hadleigh Parkes