WATCH: The All Blacks perform touching tribute Haka in France
The All Blacks perform the Haka at the Somme.
Ahead of their Rugby World Cup campaign in France, the All Blacks visited a cemetery on Thursday to pay tribute to the soldiers who died during the First World War at the Battle of the Somme.
The entire squad were in attendance at the Caterpillar Valley cemetery near Longueval where the New Zealand National Memorial is located.
The memorial was erected as a tribute to the 1,205 New Zealand soldiers who died during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
One of the deadliest battles in human history
The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the First World War (1914-18). The first day of the attack on July 1 1916, saw the British Army sustain 57,000 casualties.
The campaign finally ended in mid-November after an agonising five-month struggle that failed to secure a breakthrough.
All Blacks skipper and openside flanker Sam Cane laid a wreath at the memorial of the missing Kiwi soldiers and the team paid tribute to the fallen with a haka.
Veteran second-row Sam Whitelock also laid down an All Blacks jersey in memory of Robert Stanley Black, who was All Black number 211 and who lost his life at the Somme.
Ahead of the Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks perform the haka at Longueval Cemetery in honour of fallen New Zealand soldiers from the First World War. (One of our leading historians, Pete Smith, had the honour of escorting them around the battlefields of the Somme.) #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/alUeHVB6aP
— Mat McLachlan \ Battlefield Historian (@MatMcLachlan) September 1, 2023
Opening match against France
The All Blacks are aiming to win the Rugby World Cup for the fourth time. They are up against the host nation in a highly anticipated tournament opener at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday, September 8.
Following that fixture, New Zealand take on Namibia on Friday, September 15, Italy on Friday, September 29 and then face Uruguay in their final Pool A match on Thursday, October 5.
They recently won the Rugby Championship after winning all of their matches in that competition against Argentina, South Africa and Australia.
However, they suffered a 35-7 loss against the Springboks at Twickenham last Friday in their final warm-up encounter.
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