The power cut that stretched halftime to half an hour against Argentina on Saturday played into the All Blacks’ hands, according to playmaker Aaron Cruden.
Westpac Stadium was plunged into darkness midway through New Zealand’s 21-5 win when the outage struck just as the players were emerging back onto the ground.
First five-eighth Cruden said the players benefited from an extra 15 minutes in the changing sheds as the floodlights warmed back up.
It allowed time for further strategising after battling to a narrow 6-5 lead against the resolute Pumas.
“We were able to talk a few things over with a longer halftime and there were improvements in the second half,” he said.
Some All Blacks were initially confused when the lights went out.
Lock Luke Romano thought it was part of an elaborate half-time entertainment package.
“Then I knew there was something wrong when I turned around and something on the electronic signing said to press ‘ctrl-alt-delete’ to restart it,” he said.
Captain Richie McCaw said the players were kept informed about how long the break would last and the coaching staff told them to stay warm.
“I thought the guys handled it pretty well,” McCaw said.
The cause of the power cut, which affected the port area of Wellington, hasn’t been identified.
The city was battered by gale force winds for long periods on Saturday which caused damage to homes and trees and affected travel.