Now it's down to business Andrew Boyens is the closest Otago link to the All Whites team that chases World Cup glory tonight. The Kavanagh College old boy and former Dunedin Technical defender gives his thoughts on the big game.
It's been a very interesting week in Wellington.
There was a lot of excitement among the players early on but now I think the buzz has worn off a bit.
It's down to business and people are really starting to focus on the game.
Playing in front of a full house at the Cake Tin will be great.
We're all playing at a high level and we can deal with big crowds and noise.
But the boys have talked about this being the first time we have really experienced a home crowd, a New Zealand crowd, that is so big.
That's going to be pretty cool.
Drawing 0-0 with Bahrain over there was a top effort.
It's always really interesting when you go into a second leg like this.
It can be tougher than you think to work out how to approach a game with so much at stake.
We have to win the game, simple as that.
Conceding a goal, especially early on, is a big no-no, so we have to be relatively cautious.
At the same time, we want to take a more attacking approach and hopefully that pays off.
The boys did really well in the first leg.
After that, it was always going to be tough for me and other guys in the reserves to break into the starting line-up.
I'll be happy to watch a win from the bench.
It's always disappointing not to be in the thick of it but my team-mates did a great job in Bahrain and I know they can do it again tonight.
We've talked a little bit about the possibility of a penalty shoot-out.
I actually took a couple of penalties in college but, in a game like this, I'd be quite happy to leave it to the strikers.
We've also spoken about the 1982 All Whites.
Actually, we've done that for years, since I first made the All Whites.
That was a great achievement by those guys and it's always been something we've aspired to.
We hope and we believe we can do it again.
If we do it, it will be something quite special for everyone.
My parents and my brothers are coming up to Wellington to watch the game.
That'll be nice.
Unfortunately my wife couldn't come with me from America this time.
Hopefully she can come and see the All Whites playing in South Africa next year.
We're excited and we're confident.
This is going to be an awesome night.
- As told to Hayden Meikle
