Rugby World Cup Third Place Game

Wales and New Zealand will hope to end their World Cup campaign with a win as they go face-to-face in the third-place game in Tokyo on Friday November 1st. 

 Wales failed to make their maiden World Cup final as South Africa narrowly beat them 19-16 in a bruising and physical game. Whilst New Zealand were dominated and shut down by an inspired England team.

 This is a game that neither were targeting, yet this provides Wales and coach Warren Gatland to cap off his twelve-year tenure of with a win. If Wales win on Friday, then Gatland will have beaten every Tier One nation during his tenure; they will also break their sixty-six year long losing streak to the All Blacks. 

 This has not gone unnoticed in the Wales camp. “We are disappointed not to be in the final but have the chance to create a little bit of history against the All Blacks. It has been a long time, 66 years, not to beat a side. 

 “There is something at stake - a lot of pride - and a victory for us would be special.”

 This game will provide New Zealand with the chance to restore themselves back to winning ways after last weekend’s disappointing performance against England. That defeat meant that they could not create history by winning three consecutive World Cups.

 Despite this, coach Steve Hansen insists the All Blacks will be up for the test. “We've just come off a loss. It's Wales and we've got a history with them that we need to keep feeding. We've got a legacy and a responsibility to that legacy.”

 End of an Era

The third-place game will see Wales wave goodbye Warren Gatland. Throughout his twelve-year run, he has taken Wales to new heights by winning four Six Nations titles including three Grand Slams with a stint as World number one.

 Gatland has moulded a squad and had immensely improved the selection pool in Wales. Former Welsh centre Tom Shanklin believes he has done a brilliant job with despite the size of player selection. “He's not got the greatest player pool to pick from, but he gets the best out of his players.

 "He took a lot of criticism, but it is unbelievable what he has done and he will go down as the best coach ever."

 His success has seen Wales succeed above anybody’s expectations.

 Gatland has garnered plaudits from across the world of rugby. None more so than from his former players and members of his coaching staff.

 Neil Jenkins is not short of compliments for one of Wales’ best every coaches. “He is a god, a god of the game as far as I'm concerned,"

 A win of Friday will see Gatland end his Wales career on a high note.