Steve Hansen will not be wrapping his players in cotton wool ahead of the World Cup with the All Blacks coach confirming he will give his core group a run against Tonga in their final match ahead of the global showpiece.
The All Blacks, who name their 31-man World Cup squad next Wednesday, play the Pacific Islanders in Hamilton on September 7 before facing South Africa in their opening Pool B clash two weeks later.
Hansen says he was wary of his first-choice players losing sharpness between last weekend’s 36-0 Bledisloe Cup victory over Australia at Eden Park and their World Cup opener.
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He explains: “We’d like probably most of the frontliners to get some form of game-time in the Tonga game, otherwise it’s too big a break before we play South Africa.”
Several of the players in the 34-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup Tests have been released to play in New Zealand’s provincial championship this weekend in order to give Hansen one final look at them before the squad for Japan is finalised.