1 Nov 2019

As it happened - Rugby World Cup: All Blacks beat Wales 40-17

11:53 pm on 1 November 2019

Rugby World Cup - New Zealand have beaten Wales 40-17 in the third place playoff in Tokyo. See how the game unfolded with live updates from Matt Chatterton.

Match info

Tokyo Stadium will host the match between New Zealand and Wales - it's a 40 minute train ride west of the city centre to the ground and it seats 49,970 people.

Both teams have played at Tokyo Stadium during the Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks twice and Wales once.

The All Blacks won both their matches there against Namibia in the pool stage and Ireland in the quarterfinals.

Wales meanwhile played Australia in their first match of the tournament at Tokyo Stadium, walking away 29-25 victors.

Englishman Wayne Barnes will officiate the match with Jaco Peyper (South Africa) and Pascal Gaüzère (France) his assistants. The Television Match Official is Marius Jonker of South Africa.

Kickoff is 6pm local time which is 10pm New Zealand time.

Wayne Barnes

Wayne Barnes is the referee for the match between the All Blacks and Wales. Photo: Photosport

How to watch the All Blacks vs Wales

The match will be shown live on Spark Sport, on a one hour delay on TVNZ1 and liveblogged by RNZ.

The teams

Both teams have made a raft of changes for the match. For Wales a lot of it is due to injuries, while New Zealand's team features a number of players pulling on the black jersey for the last time.

In total, Steve Hansen made seven personnel changes to the starting XV that lost to England last week, while Scott Barrett has moved from blindside flanker to his usual lock position.

The seven new faces in the XV are Dane Coles, Shannon Frizell, Sam Cane, Rieko Ioane, Sonny Bill Williams, Ryan Crotty and Ben Smith.

The match will definitely be Ben Smith, Ryan Crotty and Kieran Read's last at the international level, while others like Williams and Coles are unlikely to play at another World Cup.

Ben Smith

Friday will be Ben Smith's last international Test match. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

It will be Kieran Read's 127th Test for New Zealand and his 52nd as captain.

In total, Wales have made nine changes to their side with injuries forcing prop Tomas Francis, winger George North, flanker Aaron Wainwright and full-back Leigh Halfpenny to miss the match.

The All Blacks matchday 23

1. Joe Moody

2. Dane Coles

3. Nepo Laulala

4. Brodie Retallick

5. Scott Barrett

6. Shannon Frizell

7. Sam Cane

8. Kieran Read - captain

9. Aaron Smith

10. Richie Mo'unga

11. Rieko Ioane

12. Sonny Bill Williams

13. Ryan Crotty

14. Ben Smith

15. Beauden Barrett

16. Liam Coltman

17. Atu Moli

18. Angus Ta'avao

19. Patrick Tuipulotu

20. Matt Todd

21. Brad Weber

22. Anton Lienert-Brown

23. Jordie Barrett

Wales matchday 23

1. Nicky Smith

2. Ken Owens

3. Dillon Lewis

4. Adam Beard

5. Alun Wyn Jones - captain

6. Justin Tipuric

7. James Davies

8. Ross Moriarty

9. Tomos Williams

10. Rhys Patchell

11. Josh Adams

12. Owen Watkin

13. Jonathan Davies

14. Owen Lane

15. Hallam Amos

16. Elliot Dee

17. Rhys Carre

18. Wyn Jones

19. Jake Ball

20. Aaron Shingler

21. Gareth Davies

22. Dan Biggar

23. Hadleigh Parkes

Alun Wyn Jones makes a break for the Lions.

Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones will play his last Rugby World Cup match on Friday. Photo: PhotoSport

What the coaches have said

Friday night marks the end of the eras of both Steve Hansen and Warren Gatland in a way neither coach wanted it to.

Hansen is stepping down after 16 years with the side, eight as an assistant under Graham Henry and eight as head coach

Warren Gatland, meanwhile, is leaving the Wales job after 12 years in charge to take over his hometown Super Rugby franchise - the Chiefs.

Steve Hansen and Warren Gatland chat after the Lions series.

Friday will be the last time Steve Hansen and Warren Gatland coach their respective sides. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

1953 was the third and last time Wales beat New Zealand and Gatland says his side wants to change that on Friday.

"They (Wales players) are disappointed not to be in the final but have the chance to create a little bit of history against the All Blacks," Gatland said.

"It has been a long time, 66 years, not to beat a side. We have had success against every other nation. There is definitely something at stake - a lot of pride - and a victory for us would be pretty special."

For Hansen, not being in the final has been a tough pill to swallow, but he still wants to leave the team with a winning feeling.

"It's an important test match for a number of reasons," Hansen said. "One, we've just come off a loss. Two, 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."

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