Ma'a Nonu: 'We kept emotions in check'

New Zealand centre Ma'a Nonu has praised his side's ability to focus on the task at hand in the build-up to this evening's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham.

Aside from being the biggest match the sport has to offer, Saturday's showpiece was also the end of an era for the All Blacks as Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith, Keven Mealamu and Nonu himself are all expected to hang up their boots.

Nonu was able to mark the occasion with a try to help his side to a 34-17 victory as New Zealand clinched an unprecedented third World Cup triumph.

"I thought we had a real focus on what was at hand," Nonu, who ended his career with 31 tries in 102 Tests, told Sports Mole.

"We pretty much put that behind us in terms of who was leaving and who's last game it was. I thought Richie hit the nail on the head this week in terms of what was at stake and what we needed to do tonight."

The retiring quintet boast almost 600 international caps between them, while Nonu's tally of 31 tries puts him 10th on the all-time list for New Zealand.