All Blacks veteran star Keven Mealamu has voiced his support for England captain Chris Robshaw following his decision to go for touch rather than kick a penalty that would have drawn his nation equal with Wales with only minutes to go at Twickenham on Saturday.
With both nations competing in what has been dubbed the ‘Pool of Death’ in this year’s Rugby World Cup that includes the likes of Australia, Fiji and Uruguay, a loss such as this could prove to be the difference between qualification for the next round or elimination from the tournament altogether.
And as reported by Stuff, New Zealand star Mealamu believes that Robshaw made the right decision despite England conceding possession and, in turn, the result of the match – much to the criticism of many.
“I’d back what they did. You play to win the game, you don’t play to draw,” Mealamu said without hesitation.
Mealamu also admitted that the atmosphere in Wales following the game was amazing with the squad that is currently based in Cardiff, struggling to rest due to the noise from fans.
“I didn’t get to sleep because I could just hear ‘Wales, Wales’ with people screaming outside my bedroom. It was a great game.
“It’s one of the best spectacles you can see when a game comes right down to the end. It’s good to see that sort of tight rugby early in this competition.”
All Blacks prop Wyatt Crockett also admitted that watching Wales manage to stage an amazing comeback proved inspirational.
“I love watching a team when they are under that sort of pressure. Dealing with all those injuries to watch them fight it out and scrap that game out was inspiring.
“Hopefully we can have that sort of resolve if anything like that happens to us… I’m sure the Welsh boys will be looking back on that tape with a lot of pride and they’ll be a tough side to beat.”
