All Blacks eager to replace France pain with a tour-ending show in Turin

Italy was supposed to be an end-of-tour fling for the All Blacks.

Some pizza, some vino, check out the Shroud of Turin, and play some autumn rugby. Cin cin!

Then France spiked those plans last weekend in Paris by fending off New Zealand 30-29 in a thriller.

The All Blacks' target of sweeping their five-match northern tour was ruined. So in their last match before they head home, they have cast a more critical eye on Italy on Saturday at sold-out Juventus Stadium.

A stronger side than originally intended has been picked to produce a performance befitting a year in which New Zealand reset and rebuilt under first-year coach Scott Robertson.

Just five changes to the lineup, three enforced by injuries from Paris, have resulted. Robertson says they would have changed five or six more players but for Paris.

Remarkably, flanker Wallace Sititi, nominated for world breakthrough player of the year, will start for a fifth straight weekend. His cause has been aided by tour-long injuries to back-rowers Dalton Papali'i and Ethan Blackadder.

Six others will also appear in every tour match for varying minutes: Backs Cam Roigard, Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown, and forwards Asafo Aumua, Patrick Tuipulotu and Ofa Tu'ungafasi.

“The guys were all putting their hands up,” Robertson says. “It's been a big 40 days for us and we want to finish on Saturday night with a performance we're proud of.”

Prop Tamaiti Williams hurt his neck against France and gave an opening for Ethan de Groot's return. The last fit All Black not to have appeared on tour, de Groot was dropped for breaching unspecified team protocols. But he's done his time.

“Mate, he's trained the house down,” Robertson enthuses. “He's done double sessions, and after the indiscretion he's put his hand up and owned it. It's his chance.”

The game also marks the international retirements of flanker Sam Cane and scrumhalf TJ Perenara. Both World Cup winners are pursuing club careers in Japan.

Cane replaced Richie McCaw, has been a grafter and calm under pressure. He recovered from a broken neck to play 103 tests and captain the All Blacks to the last World Cup final. Perenara, keyed up and attack-minded, was unlucky to rise beside Aaron Smith. Perenara has been a reserve in 61 of 88 tests, and he’s a reserve again this weekend, but he has no regrets.

Robertson praised them for their leadership and legacies.

“One thing I've learned is test match footy's a lot to do with experience,” Robertson says. “You have to have experience, there's no replacement. You have to have been there and felt it, so that you can teach others, and that's what they've done.”

The Italians will miss captain Michele Lamaro, who was concussed against Georgia last weekend. But they are glad to have back fullback Ange Capuozzo, who has played only six minutes this month after he was concussed against Argentina.

It's been a rough autumn for Italy. It was overwhelmed by the Pumas in Udine and dominated Georgia in Genoa but just edged it on the scoreboard. Coach Gonzalo Quesada has taken the All Blacks selection as a mark of respect.

“We are preparing to face a storm,” Quesada says. “We have to prepare the boat, the tools, and then we will understand how to manage the game emotionally and not panic, otherwise the boat will sink.”

Italy has never beaten New Zealand in 16 previous tests going back to 1987. The last match, at the World Cup last year in Lyon, finished 96-17.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Italy's players stand on the pitch prior to the start of the Autumn Nations Series rugby match between Italy and Argentina at the Friuli stadium, in Saturday, Italy, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Podorieszach)

New Zealand's Wallace Sititi, takes the ball at a line out during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan approved a 39 trillion yen ($250 billion) economic stimulus package Friday centered around initiatives it said were aimed at boosting individual incomes.

The broad plan passed by the Cabinet is the centerpiece of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s recently installed administration. It provides support for digital innovation in the world’s fourth largest economy, subsidies to defray for rising energy costs and help for low-income households.

The plan is designed to instill a sense of “well being” in the Japanese people, the government said, using the English phrase.

Although Japan has managed weak growth in recent quarters, the long-term outlook for the economy and for the country's standing in the world is uncertain. The plan includes measures to address the country's falling birthrate, which is one of the lowest among developed nations, help for working women and for the elderly.

The plan also calls for raising the annual tax-free salary threshold from the current 1.03 million yen ($6,640). The new ceiling is not yet decided. But a level of 1.78 million yen ($11,500) has been proposed.

“During the past 30 years, our nation has overcome various challenges, including deflation and confusion that followed the burst of the ‘bubble economy,’ the global financial crisis, various natural disasters and the difficulties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic,” documents provided by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

The government says signs of growth are evident, but Japan must avoid a negative spiraling of lower prices similar to an earlier protracted bout of deflation and attain sustainable wage increases to support growth.

The package promised help for small and medium-size businesses, for regional economies, farms and creative content like animation.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner lost their majority in the lower house of Parliament last month in an election.

They face the challenge of maneuvering for support among various opposition parties. Some analysts already are projecting that Ishiba’s premiership will be relatively short-lived.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama

FILE - People walk along a pedestrian crossing at Ginza shopping street in Tokyo, on March 31, 2023, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)