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Sport | All Blacks

All Blacks to pay tribute to Sir Brian Lochore

Coach Steve Hansen, Ardie Savea, Owen Franks and Beauden Barrett talk about Saturday's game

The All Blacks and Wallabies will remember the late Sir Brian Lochore before kickoff at the first Bledisloe Cup match of the season this Saturday in Perth.

As well as the tribute by both sides, the All Blacks will wear the former captain’s number on their jersey.

“There have been little things done all week.  We had a good presentation from Sam Whitelock (on Tuesday night) talking about Sir Brian’s career and had some other people speak during that presentation, and we’ll also be putting his All Black number ‘637’ on the jersey. We’re proud to be doing it.” said All Black coach Steve Hansen.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika brought the issue up when he was asked at a press conference about Hansen comparing him to Mickey Mouse earlier this year.

"I suppose there's two ways of looking at it, there's that way, and then there's the other thing that goes on behind the scenes when New Zealand asked us about commemorating Brian Lochore at the match and sent me an email about it and the first thing I did without hesitation was saying yes, icon of the game and at an occasion like this should be commemorated with a moment's silence before a match," Cheika said.

The game between the two sides is being played at the new Optus Stadium in Perth, with a crowd of 60,000 expected.