Fallen soldiers again inspire the All Blacks

Honouring the soldiers who lost their lives in World War 1 will once again provide inspiration when the All Blacks contest the Test against France on Sunday morning (NZT).

The Test falls on Armistice Day, adding to the occasion for both sides.

Assistant coach Wayne Smith acknowledged France would be inspired by the date but said recent All Blacks sides to France had also developed a strong education and empathy for what their countrymen had endured on the battlefields of Europe.

"Our people came from the outermost ends of the earth to fight over here so hopefully there's some emotional capital for us as well," Smith said.

The All Blacks of 2000 -- under Smith as head coach -- visited the grave of 1905-06 Originals captain Dave Gallaher at Passchendaele, Belgium, where he died of war wounds in 1917.

"We had a military historian with us from Great Britain and he just took us through stuff that we should learn at school but we don't," Smith recalled.

"It was just striking how imperceptible the mound was they were fighting over. They were throwing everything at it and we had thousands of men die in that battle.

"A lot of these boys remember that deeply."

Gallaher has become a reference point for All Blacks teams to Europe.

Members of last year's Grand Slam-winning team visited the guest house in Ramelton, Ireland where Gallaher was born in 1873 and unveiled a plaque.

Gallaher emigrated with his family in 1878 and led the All Blacks on their epic tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America, when they played 35 matches and lost just one, to Wales.

The French Test was that country's first, at Paris on New Year's Day 1906.

The teams will once again be playing for the Gallaher Cup in the Tests here on Sunday and at Paris next week.

"There's good knowledge within the team about who he was," Smith said.

"He's really a symbol, I guess for all the other young New Zealanders and rugby players who came to fight over here.

"Thirteen other All Blacks died in the first World War so it's a chance to remember them.

"They weren't any older than these boys so it's a chance to play for them or at least put a marker down for them."

Non-playing members of the team and management will attend Armistice Day commemorations on Saturday morning here.

In Sunday's Test and again at Paris next week, the All Blacks will wear an embroidered poppy on the sleeve of their Test jerseys, something that had been done for tests on French soil in 2001 and 2004.

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