All Black skipper Richie McCaw was a devastated figure after the defeat. Photo / Getty Images.
The vanquished All Black party will return home en masse this week, determined to put on a united front after their shock World Cup exit.
Before the tournament the All Blacks and management decided on a group flight home, hoping that date would be in the last rather
than first week of October.
But the team, coaches and management staff will arrive in Auckland at 12.15pm on Wednesday after a presumably cheerless flight via Japan.
After previous unsuccessful campaigns players were free to return at their leisure, but this All Black group has stressed unity and a one-in all-in policy throughout coach Graham Henry's tenure.
"We thought it was important that we come back as a team. Regardless of the outcome, we thought it was important we were united right to the end," manager Darren Shand said before the start of the Cup.
The All Blacks did not want to leave any players or staff isolated like coach John Hart was after the 1999 semifinal defeat against France. He returned home, after resigning, to a disgraceful level of public hostility.
John Mitchell also suffered a backlash after the 2003 tournament.
All Black skipper Richie McCaw was a devastated figure after the defeat.
"Today we got beaten by a better team and the pain in the eyes and the body language sums it up," he said of the team.
"It is hard to put in words but there are some pretty shattered guys as you would expect and I guess [we're] at a loss as to why we did not put our game together as we would have liked."
The team will not stay together long, though, with several players signed to join European clubs and yet more believed to be considering bailing from New Zealand rugby.
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