Kalyn Ponga will represent New Zealand for the first time at the World Cup after choosing his parents' homeland. The 28-year-old fullback joins the Kiwis after leading Newcastle to the grand final.
"He's playing pretty good right about now," New Zealand captain James Fisher-Harris said. Ponga's Knights lost 19-18 to the Sydney Roosters after climbing from seventh place.
Coach Stacey Jones said Ponga carried Newcastle through the season's closing stretch and added, "we're just lucky that we've got him on the side."
The Kiwis face Australia in Sydney on Thursday night, opening the World Cup with a chance to secure a New Zealand double. The All Blacks beat the Wallabies 50-19 five days earlier, winning the Bledisloe Cup for the 23rd consecutive year.
Eight All Blacks, including Will Jordan and Cam Roigard, attended the Kiwis' captain's run on Wednesday to show their support. Fisher-Harris said, "It's just all love and supporting each other and hopefully we can go watch their game on Saturday too, so it's pretty special,"
Fisher-Harris believes New Zealand has "potentially" its best-ever forward pack and says winning the tournament is the plan. He hopes the team can inspire young players, as the 2008 World Cup winners inspired him.
"When they won in 2008, I was watching Blairy (Adam Blair) and that, (Nathan) Cayless and obviously Benji (Marshall), so that made me want to go down this path," he said.