New Zealand’s Richie McCaw during a press conference yesterday. (Reuters)

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New Zealand have selected an unchanged team and bench for tomorrow’s Rugby World Cup final against Australia as they seek to retain the title and become the first country to win the trophy three times.
After the squad came through a bruising semi-final against South Africa, Steve Hansen is able to send out his strongest unit with the matchday 23 boasting a remarkable 1,339 caps.
Dan Carter, playing his last international, will start at flyhalf having missed most of the last tournament after suffering an injury in the pool stage.
“We came here as contenders for the Cup, just like everyone else. In our minds, we have never been defenders (of the trophy),” coach Hansen said.
“We knew we would have to earn the right to progress through the tournament so being in the final is very satisfying in its own right, as it’s the first Rugby World Cup Final an All Blacks team has made in the UK.
“But the ultimate goal has always been to win it, so we are exactly where we need to be to try and achieve that.”
New Zealand have taken over England’s usual training base at Pennyhill Park in Surrey and went through their paces on a soggy morning on Thursday.
“We’ve had a great preparation so far this week at Pennyhill—the boys are feeling really fresh and energised. We’re building towards Saturday’s match with a growing sense of determination and real excitement and I couldn’t be happier with where we are at,” Hansen said.
“We know that all our fans here and at home are as excited as we are. Once again, we’d like to thank them for all their good wishes and support, and we’ll be looking to put in a performance all of us can be proud of.”

McCaw puts back farewell
The inspirational captain said he has put back a decision on whether to retire until after the final. McCaw, 34, has indicated several times this year he would bow out after the tournament. Team management have also spoken as if Saturday’s final will be his last Test.
“I’ll make a decison when I get home,” he said. “I want to play this weekend and that (retirement) hasn’t entered my mind this week.
“I’ve made no secret I’m going to have a good reflect on things after this.” McCaw has played a world record 147 Tests.
The unchanged side leaves replacement prop Joe Moody in the run-on side.  
Wyatt Crockett who suffered a groin injury ahead of the South Africa match, would have been on the bench for Saturday but broke down again shortly before Hansen unveiled his side.  
The All Blacks and Wallabies are both seeking to be the first side to win the World Cup three times. The All Blacks are also bidding to win the cup for the first time away from home and to be the first team to win consecutive titles. Australia’s two World Cup successes have both been in the northern hemisphere.  
“The ultimate goal has always been to win it, so we are exactly where we need to be to try and achieve that,” Hansen said.  
“We came here as contenders for the cup, just like everyone else. In our minds, we have never been defenders. We knew we would have to earn the right to progress through the tournament. Both teams have arrived at the final by different pathways. We’ve had the luxury of building game by game throughout the whole tournament, whilst Australia have had to be at their very best right from day one.”
The Wallabies had to beat four world top 10 sides in their six matches to make the final—Wales, Scotland, England and Argentina. The All Blacks faced Argentina, France and South Africa.
New Zealand team
1-Joe Moody, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Owen Franks, 4-Brodie Retallick, 5-Sam Whitelock, 6-Jerome Kaino, 7-Richie McCaw (captain), 8-Kieran Read; 9-Aaron Smith, 10-Dan Carter, 11-Julian Savea, 12-Ma’a Nonu, 13-Conrad Smith, 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder, 15-Ben Smith.
Replacements: 16-Keven Mealamu, 17-Ben Franks, 18-Charlie Faumuina, 19-Victor Vito, 20-Sam Cane, 21-Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22-Beauden Barrett, 23-Sonny Bill Williams.
Australia Team
1-Scott Sio, 2-Stephen Moore (captain), 3-Sekope Kepu, 4-Kane Douglas, 5-Rob Simmons, 6-Scott Fardy, 7-Michael Hooper, 8-David Pocock; 9-Will Genia, 10-Bernard Foley, 11-Drew Mitchell, 12-Matt Giteau, 13-Tevita Kuridrani, 14-Adam Ashley-Cooper, 15-Israel Folau
Replacements: 16-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17-James Slipper, 18-Greg Holmes, 19-Dean Mumm, 20-Ben McCalman, 21-Nick Phipps, 22-Matt Toomua, 23-Kurtley Beale.