All Blacks celebrate the win over Australia after the second match of the Bledisloe Cup. Photo / Nick Reed
Steve Hansen: The boys moved into their World Cup base at The Lensbury hotel on the banks of the Thames. It's nice and quiet. It's an hour out of central London and there aren't any distractions. The last thing we want are distractions.
Everyone got changed for the first training session. Just as I was about to blow the whistle and call everyone to attention, my phone rang. I was scheduled to give a press conference.
I told the boys to relax and said I'd be back as soon as I could.
Richie McCaw: We haven't seen a lot of Shag since we got here. He's always at press conferences.
Still, it leaves the boys plenty of time to relax.
The hotel has 19 tennis courts, two squash courts, and a gym with 77 stations of cardiovascular, resistance and free weight equipment, as well as two heated indoor swimming pools.
The younger guys like spending time working out but the older members of the team prefer their rooms. The beds are nice and soft.
Dan Carter: The beds are nice and soft.
Keven Mealamu: The beds are nice and soft.
Conrad Smith: The beds are nice and soft.
Ma'a Nonu: The beds are too nice and soft so I'm sleeping on the floor in the gym. It gives me easier access to all 77 stations.
Steve Hansen: I called a halt to the endless round of press conferences and told the boys to get changed for the first training session. Just as I was about to blow the whistle and call everyone to attention, the UK press barged in and demanded to know what response we had to news of the "grave insult" to the All Blacks which they said has all of New Zealand in a state of emergency.
I said, "What are you talking about?"
They snickered and smirked, and then showed us a video on their laptops of former England rugby captain Matt Dawson leading dancers into a piss-take of the haka. He's made it like the Macarena and called it the Hakarena.
The guys from the UK press said, "Your whole country is up in arms. They're agitated and freaked out. There are riots on the streets. Farms have been abandoned, and cities are smoking ruins. How do you feel?"
Keven said, "It's actually quite funny seeing him do it. The haka is a part of what we do but it's not actually what we do as a rugby team. We're out here to play our game."
Charlie Faumuina said, "I'm not too fussed about what they're doing. It doesn't bother us."
They eventually left, and I told the boys to do warm-ups, and then a few laps around the field. We were just about to start practising some moves when the ABs manager Darren Shand came running in with his laptop.
"Look," he said.
We crowded around. The headline in the Daily Telegraph read, NEW ZEALAND FURIOUS WITH MATT DAWSON VIDEO MOCKING THE HAKA. And beneath it: "Rugby World Cup favourites fail to see the funny side of former England international's 'hakarena' video".
The story read, "A New Zealand camp insider disclosed that the players were deeply unimpressed with Dawson's mocking display, believing that it denigrated the profound cultural significance of the Maori war dance to New Zealanders ... They are understood to be seething."
Richie asked, "How do you feel about the coverage?"
I said, "Seething."
Richie: Shag was either at a press conference or busy seething, so the younger boys relaxed in the gym and the rest of us got 40 winks.
Ma'a: I'm sick of the gym. The beds are nice and soft.
Steve Hansen: Finally no distractions. Everyone got changed for their first training session, and threw themselves into it. The younger guys were fitter than I'd ever seen them. Richie and the senior members were really relaxed.
I said, "Okay. Opening game on Sunday, versus Argentina. How's everyone feeling?"
They chanted, "Great!"
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