Read: No complacency, little sentiment, plenty of respect
A final test match for him in New Zealand, a World Cup around the corner, an opponent 14 places below his side in the world rankings, but All Blacks captain Kieran Read is as unsentimental, uncomplacent and respectful as ever.
The 33-year-old is set for his final appearance on home soil tomorrow afternoon for a test match against Tonga which serves as a final hitout to tune preparations for the global showpiece in Japan.
But the 121-test veteran has a steely focus, looking at this game as plenty more than a mere chance to run through training-ground drills, and one which has nothing to do with personal sign-offs.
‘‘To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it,’’ he said at the end of the team’s game-eve captain’s run of it being his final game on Kiwi turf, with international retirement coming after the World Cup.
‘‘I’m preparing for this game, Tonga, and that’s my focus at the moment. When I’m finished I’ll look back on it, but right now it’s a test match to play.’’
Similarly, when asked what the team wanted to get out of this game, going into the World Cup, Read was steadfast on the notion of simple targets, and improvement on their last outing.
‘‘We’ve certainly got to be striving to be better,’’ he said. ‘‘And we’re striving to put a performance out there as best we can. It’s important that we are focused on this game, and this game only.
‘‘It’s a test match for us. So we’ve prepared this week as if we’re playing any other team in the world.’’
It’s a Tonga side which enters the match having lost three of its four tests in 2019, to Fiji, Samoa and Japan (to go with a win over Canada) and having never got within 30 points of the All Blacks, but Read is still ‘‘expecting a lot’’, on and off the park. ‘‘I think they have improved,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s always hard for them because they don’t necessarily get their best players all the time. So that’s something to be worked on over the coming years.
‘‘But when they do have that side, they are a dangerous team, and they’re a side that has really world class players across the park, in certain positions. So we treat them with respect.
‘‘They’re a pretty physical pack, if you look amongst the guys there, not too small in the stats. And they’re a team that have got so much pride in their jersey and their country.’’