All Blacks scrumhalf Aaron Smith says the squad only found out both Kieran Read and TJ Perenara would lead their haka against the Springboks the day before the Test.
The All Blacks traditionally only have one leader for the traditional pre-game ritual.
However, both regular leader Perenara and captain Read led the special Kapa O Pango in their World Cup opener against the Boks in Yokohama.
Speaking about the decision, Smith told 1 NEWS that Read and Perenara only told the squad the day before the match that they would both be leading the haka.
‘That was something [Read] and TJ had sorted out and we found out about it yesterday [on Friday],’ Smith said.
‘I think it just added to the occasion. We were pretty pumped up, we were pretty excited about this Test match.
‘But we might’ve taken the intensity in the haka into the first 10 minutes – we were pretty skittery and too pumped up.’