A shell shocked Richie McCaw said the All Blacks allowed themselves to become " rattled" by France which ultimately proved his team's undoing during their 20-18 1/4 finals loss at the World Cup in France.

Tears welled in the All Blacks skipper's eyes as he tried to explain the reason why his side which has dominated test rugby for the last 3 years, were unable to deliver on the biggest stage of all.

McCaw said that the pain in the All Blacks eyes and their body language sums it up with some of the players probably playing their last game for New Zealand. He added that the France played with more passion and hunger then the All Blacks which was a surprise.