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22 Sec Ago: The All Blacks can't let the burden of historic losses to Argentina and the thought of another distract them from the ultimate goal.
Ahead of their Rugby World Cup semi-final, New Zealand's head coach Ian Foster said the team is taking a "no tomorrow" approach, knowing full well that it could be their last game.
After a 35-year drought, Argentina finally defeated New Zealand in the 30th contest between the two teams in the 2020 Tri Nations.
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That was the last of four losses for the All Blacks in 2022 that ultimately led to Foster's exit, which will follow this World Cup campaign
In the 36 contests to date with Argentina, New Zealand has only lost twice and drawn once.
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"We are massively respectful of Argentina. We know that they have had a great tournament. We don't live in the past in terms of past results," said Foster.
"Rugby World Cup tournaments are really about the present, it's about the best team on the night. If you go into a World Cup semi-final with any expectation that the past is going to happen again, you have got problems.
"It's a final. Definitely a final. The concept of 'no tomorrow' from the last game is exactly the same as for this one," he added.
"We know on the schedule there is another game for the teams that don't win their semi-final but our mindset, and I'm sure Argentina's is the same, is they just want to give everything they've got this week.
"It's all about this week and that's how we keep things nice and simple in our mind."
The All Blacks find themselves in a unique position without the weight of expectation on their shoulders.
They came into this year's Rugby World Cup fourth in the world rankings, lost to France in the opening match of the tournament, and few thought they'd beat Ireland the quarter-finals.
That's in stark contrast to four years ago when New Zealand came to Japan atop the world rankings looking to win three titles in a row. Ultimately, they fell to England in the semi-final.
"The talk about 2019 we covered off in a small amount of time. It is not lingering in our mind," Foster explained.
"Most of the lessons we got out of 2019 have been taken on board. We make sure we go back and revisit what were the keys and we have done that. Where I'm really proud of this group is that they are just loving being here and where they are at right now.
"The hardest thing to do in sport is to stay in the now, just to nail the thing in front of you. There is so much talk about the past and the future and the hardest thing is not to allow yourself to get distracted by those two conversations, but just to be the best you can be right now.
"We are working hard at that and that's the coaching group as well. I'm incredibly proud of the way the players are dealing with that. They are not getting distracted by being too confused by lessons of the past."
New Zealand face Argentina on Saturday morning (AEDT) before South Africa and England go head-to-head in their 2019 Rugby World Cup final rematch.
Where are the semi-finals being played?
Both semi-finals are being played at Stade de France in Paris, which has a capacity of 80,000 spectators.
Who are the World Cup semi-final referees?
Australia's Angus Gardner will referee the Argentina vs New Zealand match. He will be joined by assistant referees Nic Berry (Australia) and Karl Dickson (England) with Ben Whitehouse (Wales) as television match official (TMO).
Ben O'Keeffe of New Zealand will referee the England vs South Africa match. He will be joined by assistant referees Andrew Brace (Ireland) and Paul Williams (New Zealand) and television match official (TMO) Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand).
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