For the first time in his career, captain Kieran Read has had the privilege of leading the All Blacks' haka before their match against Italy in Rome.
The 33-year-old took over the role from TJ Perenara for 'Ka Mate'. Perenara took Read's spot at the point of the arrowhead formation the players stand in when doing the haka.
The skipper has been in the firing line for an uncharacteristically sloppy performance against the Irish last week, and coach Steve Hansen insists Read's decision to lead the haka had nothing to do with that.
The number eight put last week's poor performance behind him with a sharp display as the All Blacks beat Italy 66-3.
Read said leading the haka has been something he's wanted to do for a long time.
"It was fairly big. For myself, it was something I wanted to do while I was in this position. It just seemed like the right opportunity. Hopefully I did it justice," Read said.
"It's something I've wanted to do for a number of years. It's not about me there, it's about the team and connection."
Hansen was asked if the coaching staff had any say in who leads the haka, and he said "none".
You don't just rock up and lead the haka, it take a lot of preparation. To be able to lead it well, it's probably something you would put half a year, or a whole year, of work into.
"It's a tremendous honour to lead it, and whilst it's a tremendous honour, it's also a tremendous responsibility because you're not only representing the All Blacks, you're representing the iwi which belongs to that haka, and all of our Māori brothers and sisters."
"He's been working away with TJ and decided this weekend he was ready."
Hansen confirmed afterwards that the All Blacks will face Tonga before next year's World Cup, meaning the All Blacks will play five matches before the tournament.
They will also face South Africa and Argentina once and Australia twice.
Newshub.
