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The All Blacks will go through a grieving process much the same as one when someone dies, an expert said.
Sports psychologist Gary Hermansson said the All Blacks would be suffering a range of emotions after their shock loss to France in the World Cup quarter-finals yesterday.
"They'll be absolutely gutted and feeling really quite emotionally bruised right now," he said.
Dr Hermansson, team psychologist for the New Zealand cricket team and several past Olympic and Commonwealth teams, said the players would likely feel bewilderment, humiliation, and anxiety about people's reaction to the loss.
"It's been a number of years of their effort and their life all targeted towards this, and this represents a real blow to them ... They'll also be feeling for supporters and the nation."
Initial denial by the players would be replaced by anger, and eventually acceptance - a pattern "fairly typical of a grieving process".
Yesterday was the first time the All Blacks have lost a World Cup quarter-final, and former coach Laurie Mains said leaving the competition at that level possibly felt worse than losing a final.
Mains, who was coach when the team lost to South Africa in the 1995 final, said he had a lot of sympathy for the players and coach Graham Henry.
"I certainly felt the responsibility of the whole country, the whole rugby movement in New Zealand [in'95]," he said.
Dr Hermansson said the All Blacks and other New Zealand teams had an unfortunate habit of making it to the knockout stage of competitions but not getting further. "We're very good when we're the underdog because we'll take anybody on and when the expectations aren't there, we'll show people what we're made of."
But problems arose among players when expectations were greater.
"Once they get to a point where it's all or nothing, the expectations weigh heavy and we then shift into worrying about doing it wrong rather than doing it right."
New Zealand teams at the top level tended to focus on not making mistakes, rather than taking risks. He said that this was related to the way New Zealand children were raised, with parents telling them what not to do, and to be careful and vigilant.
Dr Hermansson said this made New Zealanders good people but also made them a frightened of doing things wrong.
"When everything's on the line, the risk is that the players then move into a slightly more cautious, don't-make-a-mistake mode and become vulnerable for another team, like France, who will make a mistake and live with it tomorrow."
