A big question surrounding Wednesday morning’s World Cup showdown between Canada and New Zealand: Which haka will the All-Blacks perform before kickoff — Ka Mate or Kapa o Pango?

That might be the only uncertainty about the match. There isn’t much doubt the second-ranked All-Blacks will manhandle short-handed Canada, even after the Canadians flew in a pair of replacements for players injured in their tournament-opening loss to Italy.

But there’s still potential for on-field drama. Can New Zealand threaten the tournament record 145 points they totalled against Japan in 1995? Will Canada score more than 15 points, the most they’ve ever managed against the All-Blacks?

And can a Canadian squad that has lost ground to peers like the U.S. in recent years capitalize on a rare chance to play the sport’s best players on its biggest stage, even if it means another lopsided loss?

Team Canada forward Tyler Ardron plays club rugby for the Chiefs, a pro squad based in Hamilton, New Zealand, and faces All-Blacks on a weekly basis. He knows he’s ready.

“There’s no better preparation (than playing pro in New Zealand),” Ardron told the Star before the tournament. “You’re pretty much playing at a test match level every week. The main thing is the experience, to know what to expect when you come up against all these players.”

Canada entered the tournament ranked 22nd in the world and optimistic they could manage the two wins that would earn them a berth in the 2023 World Cup. But then came their first group stage game, and a 48-7 thrashing from Italy. Looming matches against southern-hemisphere powerhouses New Zealand and South Africa mean Canada’s best chance to win a game will come in the group finale against 23rd-ranked Namibia.

New Zealand, meanwhile, weathered South Africa’s early aggression, then rebounded for a 23-13 win in their tournament opener. Now they face Canada and Namibia in a four-day span, and head coach Steve Hansen says he’ll use the matches to fine-tune performance and test his team’s depth.

“Our aim is to win the next two pool matches … and manage the workload across the group,” Hansen told reporters in Japan. “When it comes to our preparation, it should never be about who we are playing, but how we are preparing … You always respect your opponent and the jersey.”

Another winless World Cup would send Canada back into the long series of qualifiers the squad navigated to reach this year’s tournament. It would give them plenty of potentially winnable matches against other third-tier rugby nations, but isolate them from rugby’s big time. So even if history and current rankings don’t favour the Canadians, players still see a match against the All-Blacks as something to cherish.

“It’s not an opportunity that comes up every week or every month,” Canada forward Lucas Rumball said before the tournament. “It comes every couple of years if you’re lucky. You always want to measure yourself against the best in the world.”

To the extent that the All-Blacks can field a B-team, that’s who’s slated to face Canada on Wednesday. Super-sub Sonny Bill Williams moves into the starting lineup, while hard-charging forward Ardie Savea will come off the bench. Aaron Smith, a world-class performer who usually starts at scrum-half, won’t dress at all.

But, as Ardron knows first-hand, the All-Blacks’ substitutes are often just as good as the starters they replace.

The Lakefield, Ont. native has spent the last two seasons playing in Super Rugby, a pro circuit with clubs in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Argentina. Eight of his club teammates with the Chiefs made New Zealand’s 31-man World Cup roster.

“It’s going to be awesome (playing against them),” Ardron said. “I’m sure we’ll have some good banter at the bottom of a couple of rucks … You get to become friends with guys on other Super Rugby teams, but as soon as you get to that game it’s all bets off.”

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Canada is winless in six all-time matches against the All-Blacks, and New Zealand’s mean margin of victory is 56.5 points. The closest meeting was in the quarterfinals of the 1991 World Cup, when New Zealand won 29-15.

Their most recent match was a 79-15 All-Blacks blowout in the 2011 World Cup.

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