the essential
Before challenging the XV of France, this Saturday, November 16 at the Stade de France (9:10 p.m.), the All Blacks went to pay their respects at the tomb of the unknown soldier, under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
November 11 was commemorated at the beginning of the week by President Emmanuel Macron, in the presence of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer under the Arc de Triomphe, and more precisely at the tomb of the unknown soldier.
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“Humbling experience”
A few days later, this Friday, November 15 and on the eve of a tantalizing France – New Zealand this Saturday evening at the Stade de France, it was the turn of the All Blacks to come and pay their respects in such a place. Three players from the selection – Sam Cane, Josh Lord and Ethan de Groot – came to lay a wreath in the company of several members of the staff.
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“It’s a humbling experience, to be honest,” said Sam Cane, who came to pay tribute to the New Zealanders who fell during the Great War, in images relayed by the All Blacks on their Instagram account.
This is not the first time that New Zealand players have gathered at places commemorating the First World War. Last year, on the sidelines of the World Cup, the Blacks performed an impressive haka at the Longueval Memorial, in the Somme. In this cemetery rest 125 soldiers of the 1,205 New Zealand fighters who lost their lives in the battles of the Somme in 1916.
As a reminder, 128,000 New Zealand soldiers took part in the conflict, of which 90,000 were sent to France and Belgium.
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