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'We ran out of reserves' – Steve Hansen explains All Blacks' 14-man finish against Tonga

September 7, 2019

The All Blacks were intentionally down to 14 men in the final stages in Hamilton.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has explained the bizarre circumstances that saw his side finish this afternoon's Test against Tonga with 14-men, taking a 92-7 win in Hamilton.

As Ryan Crotty ran in for his second try in his first All Blacks appearance of the year, coach Hansen gave the order for the second-five to leave the field, finishing the match with just 14-men.

Speaking to media after the match, Hansen was naturally quizzed about the move, saying it was to ensure Crotty's fitness heading into the Rugby World Cup later this month.

"We ran out of reserves, and Ryan only needed to play 65 minutes, he's just come back," Hansen said.

"His welfare was more important, it's a good opportunity again to put ourselves under a bit of pressure when it comes to how many are on the park.

"We knew that we wanted to take Ryan off at 65 [minutes]. He played 40 last week, 65 this week, so he's ready to go in a couple of weeks' time.

"We had to make a choice, but the scoreboard said that we could make that choice without too much risk."

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