All Blacks captain Kieran Read was left bloodied and battered after his side's 19-7 loss to England in their Rugby World Cup semi-final in Yokohama.
No doubt Read, Hansen and the whole of New Zealand’s dream of getting a three-peat has hit an emotional halt.
“You know I guess its pretty hard to put it into words what it means,” Read said when being interviewed shortly after full-time.
England started off the game strong, scoring a try in under two minutes of play and were the dominant team throughout.
“But you know you got to give England some credit, they came out and started really well,” Read said.
In the second half Ardie Savea scored a try for the All Blacks to make the score 13-7, giving them a sniff.
However, their ill-discipline cost them, giving away a couple of kickable penalties to allow England to put the game out of reach.
“You know we will look back at that game and there will be so many what ifs and things we could’ve done a lot better, you know on a stage like this you can’t afford it and it cost us.”
All Blacks now play in the bronze medal final against tomorrow’s loser from the match between Wales and South Africa.
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