Keven Mealamu, a man who has endured more than his fair share of rugby lows during his career at the Blues, has sympathy for England following their World Cup failure.
The hosts have failed to exit their pool following their 33-13 thrashing at the hands of Australia at Twickenham, a defeat which has the knives out for coach Stuart Lancaster, who last year renewed his contract until 2020. Whether he makes it that far is extremely doubtful, with former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio one big name suggesting today he should resign immediately.
All of this might seem a little familiar to veteran All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu, who has played during the troubled coaching reigns of Pat Lam and John Kirwan, and he responded accordingly when asked today whether he felt for the England players.
"Big time. It's never easy exiting a World Cup, no matter when you exit it," he said. "You understand what they're going through as a rugby player. When you have those downs ... you work a long time for it and you want to go further into the competition."
The All Blacks watched the match over dinner following their late arrival in Darlington, a rural town in the north east of England, a 45-minute drive south of Newcastle, where they will play Tonga on Saturday morning NZT.
