{"id":928081,"date":"2026-10-14T17:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T17:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/928081\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T17:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T17:32:12","slug":"nrl-2026-all-blacks-visit-kiwis-training-ahead-of-world-cup-opener-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/928081\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: All Blacks visit Kiwis training ahead of World Cup opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

The All Blacks blasted the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup over the weekend, and a few of their players were at Kiwis training on Wednesday as New Zealand looks to continue their winning ways against Australia in both codes.<\/p>\n

The Wallabies were smashed 50-19 at Eden Park on Saturday and host their foes in Sydney this weekend.<\/p>\n

And there was plenty of cross-code love with several All Blacks players at Allianz Stadium to watch the captain\u2019s run as the Kiwis prepare to take on Australia in Thursday\u2019s World Cup opener.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool,\u201d Kiwis coach Stacey Jones said, with some of his players expected to attend the Bledisloe Cup at Accor Stadium. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that our boys were watching their game on the weekend and a lot of their players enjoy watching rugby league, so it\u2019s great that there\u2019s a connection. <\/p>\n

\u201cCross-code now is a lot closer than what it used to be. Obviously getting ideas from what they do, and if they get some stuff from us then brilliant, but it has just got to benefit both codes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The All Blacks destroyed the Wallabies all over the park, and it\u2019s a very simple recipe for the Kiwis who have a clear advantage in the middle against the World Cup favourites. <\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s pack is so strong that Dally M Team of the Year players Naufahu Whyte and Erin Clark will come off the bench, with Jones unable to recall a better crop of forwards that he played with or coached. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe form they\u2019re in is pretty special, it\u2019s the same forward pack as what we had last year, so again they know each other\u2019s game really well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike any game of rugby league, your bench has a huge part to play in the game, and it\u2019s making sure that as coaches we get our interchange right. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously you need a little bit of luck to go your way with injuries and whatnot on the field so it doesn\u2019t disrupt what your plan is.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the forwards can get on top then Kalyn Ponga will be able to wreak havoc in his first game for his country.<\/p>\n

The superstar fullback was outstanding for the Knights in their run to the grand final and now looms as the trump card that can help New Zealand win their first World Cup since 2008. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he did for the Knights this year (was incredible),\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of confidence in his game at the moment. We\u2019re just lucky that we\u2019ve got him on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published as \u2018It\u2019s really cool\u2019: All Blacks drop in to watch the Kiwis train as New Zealand looks to dominate Australia in both codes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The All Blacks blasted the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup over the weekend, and a few of their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":928082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[380197,495022,406040,495020,381463,495013,495004,495011,486089,391002,421029,380489,376730,495003,402763,10751,57709,494998,64,63,495010,1650,22616,114504,495025,495008,132832,379391,40038,393646,51086,495012,450511,377222,402460,11014,495017,4443,3762,15499,494999,494996,45755,39417,761,762,494997,1736,158,495002,495023,495026,46677,159,46907,495005,389525,495014,85,123435,670,88039,384381,491012,420993,377453,411529,426823,74713,420644,489817,495007,101147,288453,225862,377221,495009,386778,445492,403925,22514,495001,495000,495016,495024,392730,390192,377160,495018,495019,495021,364611,9357,4048,2500,41313,21418,495015,494995,495006,384215],"class_list":["post-928081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-s-game","tag-s-pack","tag-s-run","tag-s-world-cup-opener","tag-381463","tag-50-19","tag-a-better-crop","tag-a-clear-advantage","tag-a-connection","tag-a-few","tag-a-huge-part","tag-a-little-bit","tag-a-lot","tag-a-very-simple-recipe","tag-accor-stadium","tag-all-blacks","tag-allianz-stadium","tag-any-game","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-both-codes","tag-coaches","tag-confidence","tag-cross-code","tag-cross-code-differences","tag-cross-code-love","tag-dally-m-team","tag-each-other","tag-eden-park","tag-forwards","tag-havoc","tag-his-country-the-superstar-fullback","tag-his-first-game","tag-his-game","tag-his-players","tag-ideas","tag-injuries-and-whatnot","tag-jones","tag-kalyn-ponga","tag-kiwis","tag-kiwis-coach-stacey-jones","tag-kiwis-training","tag-last-year","tag-luck","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-naufahu-whyte-and-erin-clark","tag-new-zealand","tag-nrl","tag-our-boys","tag-our-interchange-right","tag-our-side","tag-plenty","tag-rugby-league","tag-saturday","tag-several-all-blacks-players","tag-some-stuff","tag-special-visitors","tag-sports","tag-stacey-jones","tag-sydney","tag-the-all-blacks","tag-the-bench","tag-the-bledisloe-cup","tag-the-captain","tag-the-field","tag-the-form","tag-the-forwards","tag-the-game","tag-the-grand-final","tag-the-kiwis","tag-the-kiwis-train","tag-the-knights","tag-the-middle","tag-the-moment","tag-the-park","tag-the-same-forward-pack","tag-the-side","tag-the-trump-card","tag-the-wallabies","tag-the-weekend","tag-the-world-cup-favourites","tag-the-year-players","tag-their-first-world-cup","tag-their-foes","tag-their-game","tag-their-players","tag-their-run","tag-their-winning-ways","tag-their-world-cup-opener","tag-this-weekend-and","tag-this-year","tag-thursday","tag-top","tag-wallabies","tag-wednesday","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-inspiration","tag-your-bench","tag-your-plan","tag-your-way"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/928082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}