Last hurrah for Smith
BEN Smith will get his All Blacks farewell after all.
After being controversially overlooked for much of the Rugby World Cup, the Otago and Highlanders outside back will play his 84th and final test on Friday night in Tokyo.
He has been named on the right wing to play Wales in the tournament’s bronze final.
It will be his final act in New Zealand rugby.
The 33yearold is set to take up a contract with Pau in France.
Smith has been a regular on either the wing or at fullback for the majority of the past eight years, and has scored 37 tries.
However, the dual playmaker pairing of Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett has left him shunted to the wing this year.
There, Sevu Reece and George Bridge have been preferred.
On Friday, however, Smith will again start in the 14 jersey while Rieko Ioane slots in on the left wing.
Steve Hansen has rung the changes for the side’s final World Cup 2019 match.
There are eight changes to the starting lineup that took the field in their semifinal loss, including one positional switch, as they look to bounce back against Wales in the bronze playoff.
Hansen said it was a difficult team to select.
‘‘This was a tough team to select because, as always, everyone wanted to play,’’ he said.
‘‘But with a short turnaround and the nature of the tournament, we feel that this is the right team for this occasion.
‘‘There’s been a lot of external talk around this being the game that noone wants to play. However, from our point of view, we can’t wait to play it. Everyone in the squad — players and management — are motivated by the opportunity to show that our last performance wasn’t at the high standard that we know we can play at.’’
Hansen thanked the fans before what will be his and several of the team’s senior
players’ final game for the All Blacks.
‘‘On behalf of the All Blacks, we’d like to thank our fans for all their ongoing, unconditional support. It’s something that we
never take for granted and is greatly appreciated by us all within the team.’’
The match kicks off at 10pm on Friday night. — Additional reporting: The NZ Herald