All Blacks captain Reuben Thorne came close to tears yesterday as he spoke about leading New Zealand's most scrutinised sporting team.
Thorne faced the media in Melbourne just before flying to Sydney for tonight's match against France to decide third and fourth place.
For the second straight Tournament a heavily favoured All Blacks side lost their semi final. This time it was 22-10 against the Wallabies. In 1999, with Thorne wearing the No 6 jersey, it was a rampant France who proved their nemesis.
As observed on the official All Blacks website, Thorne yesterday attempted to explain the personal toll since taking over the captaincy under coach John Mitchell.
"It's heartbreaking"
"It hurts like hell," said Thorne, tears welling in his eyes. "It's just as bad really, no worse though. I'm bitterly disappointed and heartbroken.
"I've been chasing this for a long time. There hasn't been much else on my mind all year. This is a fantastic side, well prepared, and we'd done everything right to that point.
"To just not get it right and to be let down on one occasion like that, it's heartbreaking. It will stick around for a long time."
Thorne said the endless scrutiny was the hardest part about leading the All Blacks.
Closing the gap
"One of the hardest things about just being an All Black in general is nothing you ever do seems to be good enough.
"There's always people wanting more, no matter what you achieve, win or not. They want you to win better or by more points. That's the hardest thing about being an All Black."
He admitted, though, that the reaction to the latest loss had not been as severe as in 1999, something that could be explained by the realisation that the rest of the rugby world had closed the gap on New Zealand.
"That's reality, whether they're willing to concede it or not. There's still bitter disappointment, but maybe people have realised it's getting harder and harder. Just because we wear the famous black jersey it doesn't automatically give us the right to be there."