Sam Cane: ‘You look out for people in black jerseys in the crowd’

With veteran Sam Whitelock perched perfectly over the ball, referee Wayne Barnes raised his arm and awarded that penalty to the All Blacks in the dying stages of their thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final with Ireland.

Playing in front of more than 78,000 at Stade de France, the New Zealanders went berserk as the relief, euphoria and emotion of the tense victory began to sink in. It meant the world to these players to stay alive at the World Cup, and the same could be said for their fans.

For the supporters draped in black at both the Parisian venue and back in Aotearoa, this victory is part of the rollercoaster that all sports fans love to endure. There are ups and downs, and there’s nothing better than seeing your team win.

The All Blacks sailed through uncharted waters this week as they carried the ‘underdogs’ tag into a World Cup quarter-final for the first time. For a team and fanbase that expects excellence, it was weird, unusual and potentially problematic.

New Zealand have only ever lost one quarter-final, and that was 16 years ago against France in Cardiff, but the All Blacks have hoisted the Webb Ellis Cup twice since and want to do so again.

But as captain Sam Cane discussed, having the unwavering support from the All Blacks' fans to spur them on is a major boost in their quest for World Cup glory.

"The way we finished the game, you look out for people in black jerseys in the crowd and see the joy on their faces, you see people who made the effort to come and support us,” Cane told reporters.

“I just want to thank them for that support. We feel it and we’re glad we could put a smile on their faces."

It came down to one moment of brilliance from veteran Sam Whitelock. With just four points in it, Ireland built up 37 phases of attack as they looked to break through the All Blacks’ rock-solid defence.

They came close, it seemed, as they edged closer and closer to New Zealand’s 22 and beyond, but the All Blacks were simply too good. Whitelock got over the ball and deservedly won a match-winning penalty in his 151^st Test in the black jersey.

The All Blacks began to celebrate, and they made the victory official a few moments later as they kicked the ball into touch.

“What an incredible finish to a Test match. I think that’s the longest I’ve heard of or witnessed," Cane added.

"The boys kept turning up for each other. I think the defence won us the test match tonight. History shows that teams that win World Cups are very good defensively. It is our benchmark going forward.

“We know how we want to play and what we’re about. It has been building up to a test match like this. When they scored, we knew what we needed to do to fix it, and we were confident we would make in-roads.”