In their rugby history, they have been unrivalled. They have a winning record against nearly every nation and have a love for this game that is longer than the Waikato River. It’s this love that makes New Zealand the rugby-mad country that they are. The current All Blacks set up is sharing this love and creating a dynasty that will, in the future, be hard to surpass.
Over the last four years the All Blacks have had no shortage of plaudits aimed towards them and rightfully so. Within this period, they have only lost a total of three games. In 2013, they managed to go the whole year unbeaten, setting new records along the way. So, how is it that they have only two World Cup titles to their name?
All Black teams of past World Cups have been branded ‘chokers’ on a few occasions. They have had taunts thrown at them, such as ‘four more years’, made famous by Wallabies legend George Gregan back in 2003. Now though, it’s a different story.
When New Zealand won their second World Cup on home soil in 2011, it was a case of getting a monkey off their backs. It put the ghosts of the past to bed, once and for all. The All Blacks have gone into all but one World Cup campaign as the bookies favourites. This speaks volumes of how much pressure each New Zealand team is under going into each game.
In 1987, New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever Rugby World Cup. New Zealand was scheduled to host 20 matches, including two semi-finals and the final. Australia was given 12 matches, including two quarter-finals and two semi-finals. As no team could realistically say that they were the world’s best, this was New Zealand’s chance to do just that.
The All Blacks began the tournament with a bang, demolishing Italy 70-6. They would go onto win their pool and book a quarter-final place against Scotland. They beat the Scots 30-3 and advanced to the semis. Wales were their opponents, but were no match for the men in black, as New Zealand ran out comfortable winners 49-6. A final at their beloved Eden Park lay ahead, with France providing the opposition. The match would go onto become a one sided affair, as the All Blacks dominated from start to finish, writing their name in the history books as the winners of the inaugural Rugby World Cup.
At the 1991 world cup, New Zealand were the defending champions and were the front runners to do it again. As the tournament was held in Britain and Ireland, it wasn’t going to be an easy task for the All Blacks. And so it proved. Although they went through as group winners, and defeated Canada in the quarter-final, New Zealand’s performances had looked shaky heading into their semi-final tie with cross-Tasman rivals, Australia. Unfortunately for the Kiwis, it was a step too far as they were outsmarted by a cunning, more resilient Aussie side who went onto win their first World Cup.
1995 was the year South Africa made their first World Cup appearance and was also confirmed to be the host nation for the tournament. New Zealand brought with them rugby’s first global superstar in the shape of Jonah Lomu. A man-mountain who would go onto make history by scoring four tries against England in the semi-finals of the competition. However, he became New Zealand’s main weakness in the final against South Africa. The All Blacks used their secret weapon far too often, as the Springboks offered Lomu no room to do damage. New Zealand’s game plan unravelled and because of this, South Africa were triumphant and won their first World Cup, at the first attempt.
In 1999, New Zealand made it through the pool stages and beat Scotland in the quarters. In the semi-finals, France were lying in wait. With the All Blacks leading 24-10 at half-time, France created one of the greatest turnarounds in World Cup history with a second half blitz. France won 43-31 and brought New Zealand’s challenge to a shuddering halt.
The 2003 campaign was the only time where the All Blacks were not the outright favourites before the tournament commenced. Having won their pool in a comfortable fashion, a quarter-final clash with old foes South Africa was New Zealand’s next port of call. The Springboks caused no real problem to the All Blacks as the Kiwis notched up a 29-9 score to book their place in the semis. Australia provided a sterner test for the All Blacks and it was a match where New Zealand’s indiscipline got the better of them. The Wallabies took full advantage and beat the All Blacks to send them back across the Tasman.
In the 2007 tournament, the All Blacks racked up some of the biggest scorelines in Rugby World Cup history as they cruised into the quarters. A familiar foe lay in wait. Hosts’ France brought the Kiwis back down to earth with a stunning 20-18 win in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. This result hit everyone involved in the All Black set-up hard. It was New Zealand worst performance at a World Cup, as the inquests on the All Blacks began. Having dealt with the wrath and all the criticism of the New Zealand public, Head Coach Graham Henry and his assistants were retained.
2011 was a big year, as the next World Cup was scheduled to be held in the land of the long white cloud for the second time since its inauguration. Clearly, failure was not an option and only victory would suffice.
The All Blacks did start the campaign with a win, defeating Tonga in the curtain raiser at Eden Park. They built steady progress through the pool phase, defeating France in the group decider. In the quarter-finals, they overcame a very physical Argentina side to advance to the semi-finals. Having lost Dan Carter to injury, the All Blacks called on Aaron Cruden to steer the ship. The Aussies were their semi-final opponents in what was a test that would show just how much New Zealand have learned from the past. It was a really clinical display along with a dominant forward effort proving the fulcrum for the win. Unbelievably, it was France who booked their place in the final with New Zealand. This was the same fixture as the 1987 final and the All Blacks were looking to repeat history. In the tightest of exchanges, it was New Zealand who would prevail, winning 8-7 in a titanic clash to end all the years of hurt and secure their second Webb Ellis trophy.
Four years on, the All Blacks are exactly where they wanted to be at this moment in time. In another Rugby World Cup final, this New Zealand outfit are the reigning world champions, looking to create more history by becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles and also win a third Webb Ellis trophy. With match-ups in every position and world class talent in both sides, nobody can argue that these are the two best teams in world rugby right now. It will come down to the old saying of ‘who wants it more’. If Australia win, it will be the most incredible achievement by any rugby team considering where they were this time last year, and the opposition they’re up against. However, if New Zealand prove triumphant, it will secure their place in history as arguably the greatest rugby team of them all.
For the All Blacks, it will certainly be a fitting end to the careers of their ‘once in a generation’ rugby players, if they win. But for Australia, a victory can be the start of something special for them to build and help reconnect the rugby association they used to have with their country. Seeing as though this is the first final that both New Zealand and Australia will go head-to-head for the trophy, it is all set to be a classic. My heart and head both say New Zealand, but whoever comes out on top, it’s rugby that will be the real winner.
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