Williamson reveals rugby’s impact on his team

Bangladesh and New Zealand, two countries with very different levels of popularity and cricketing fervour, will square off in today's World Cup match in Chennai.

Despite having finished second in the last two ICC World Cups, New Zealand cricketers still long for the deserving attention from their home fans. In Bangladesh, though, fans prepare themselves to experience a downpour of emotions whenever the Tigers are in action.

As the national sport of New Zealand, rugby naturally grabs the limelight there. New Zealand's rugby team, known as the All Blacks, have acquired that reputation by winning three Rugby World Cups -- tied for most with South Africa -- and more than 77 percent of Test matches -- more than any other men's side.

It appears that even after seeing their cricket team commence the ongoing World Cup campaign with consecutive wins -- including a convincing nine-wicket triumph over the defending champions England -- New Zealand sports enthusiasts are far more intrigued about their rugby team's World Cup quarterfinal match against Ireland on Saturday than the Bangladesh clash.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who led his side in both 2015 and 2019 World Cups, was asked about the extent of influence their rugby side has on them.

"We love the All Blacks. Coming from New Zealand, obviously Rugby is our number one game. So, I think everybody in the squad is pretty passionate about rugby and following their journey at the moment at the World Cup and the success that they've had," Williamson told reporters yesterday.

"I think when we were growing up, we all wanted to be All Blacks and that couldn't happen so we tried something else. And we're here as a cricket team."

New Zealand's two wins in two so far came without Williamson, who recovered from his knee injury suffered during the Indian Premier League in March. Williamson, however, played in the warm-up fixtures.

"We've had some really enjoyable times recently and got pretty close [in the last two World Cups], but you still have to start again. And there's been some good performances so far. We come to another venue where challenges could be a little bit different and so it's important to play by keeping our focus intact. That would give us the best chances," added the 2019 World Cup's player of the tournament.

Williamson stated that the New Zealand cricket team seek to emulate the evolution of their rugby side.

"I think something that you do hear often about their side is their culture, their environment, and their ability to keep moving forward as a team and adapting to what's in front of them, whether that's the movement of the game and how that keeps changing and evolving," added the 33-year-old.

"So yeah, I mean we just want to keep getting better as a side, keep growing as a side and that's our focus."