Kiwis pick Tonga for World Cup prep

– World No 1 New Zealand have chosen Tonga for their final dress-rehearsal before defending their crown at the World Cup in Japan next year.

New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew (right) said yesterday the one-off match would be played on September 7 in New Zealand, two weeks before the All Blacks open their World Cup campaign against South Africa in Yokohama.

Tonga, ranked 12th in the world, have lost their five previous matches against New Zealand.

“We invited Tonga to play this fixture, which we saw as an important part of the All Blacks’ preparation, but also a great way for Tonga to prepare for [the] Rug-

Wellington

by World Cup 2019,” Tew said.

The All Blacks, bidding for a record third-consecutive title, only have four other Tests next year before the global showpiece, with three in a shortened Rugby Championship plus a second Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia.

They finished this year with a 12-2 win-loss record after beating Italy 66-3 in Rome on Saturday.

However, the losses – against world No 2 Ireland last week and South Africa in September – did not overly concern coach Steve Hansen who saw similarities with their record the year before they won the 2015 World Cup.

“In those games, and in the games we lost, there’s been plenty of gifts for us to learn,” he said.

“We’ll come out of it with a lot of learnings and few stones in the shoe and under the towel, so the guys will be driven to be better and that’s exactly what we want.” –