good to be able to sit back and watch the Wallabies struggling to keep up with the number 1 ranked team. The all conquering manner of the AB’s is very impressive, they rightfully occupy the top position for longer than any other team, yet you can’t help but wonder if their good form will splutter to a grinding halt come the 2011 World Cup.
Lets go back a few years to 2002 and just as in 2010 the All Blacks were the supreme rugby power on the planet. They had won the Tri-Nations and nobody could get close to them. 2003 rolled on and playing away from home they racked up 50 pointers against the Bok’s and the Aussies. Simply put nobody could touch them. Yet we watched in amazement as the mighty AB’s wheels came off in the 2003 Rugby World Cup .
Fast forward to 2006 and 2007, same story as 2002 and 2003, beat all comers, but the following year failed when the pressure was on in Cardiff. Do they need reminding? I think they do.
Granted, the All Blacks are to rugby what the Brazil national team are to football, but funny enough, they just have not been able to transform their Tri nations and international dominance into World Cup victories, the William Webb Ellis Trophy has eluded them since 1987 and who knows if they would have even won that one if the Boks had been playing.
Before the Millennium Stadium débâcle, the All Blacks last lost in the Northern Hemisphere in 2002, when Martin Johnson's England team were at the best.
That is an incredible record, and add a 2005 grand slam tour to boot, which was even more amazing as they beat Scotland with what was termed a B-side.
They have fallen on hard times since those heady days in terms of depth, but they are playing well at the moment.
The All Blacks have had a nasty habit of peaking right before the tournament. As the records would show, going into the Tri nations, they have been the holders of the Tri-nations, Bledisloe Cup and the Freedom Cup in each world cup year.
Their World Cup record is a rather sorry tale for such a rugby powerhouse, even after the inception of the Tri-nations: 4th place 1999, 3rd place 2003, quarter-final 2007, with only one Webb-Ellis star to show for their endeavour.
Their usual punch bags, the Boks and the Wallabies have done even better than them with two wins apiece, and having won it away from home at some stage, Boks in France in 2007 and Wallabies both times in 1991 and 1999, both in the British Isles.
They have only five Tri nations titles between them, as compared to New Zealand's nine, but more importantly, they have four World Cup titles to the All Black's one.
Critics might say that these teams don't run into the All Blacks that often in World Cups, but on closer inspection, both sides have had the better of New Zealand in the World Cup.
In two semi-final encounters, the Wallabies have got the better of the All Blacks in 1991 and 2003, while the Boks pipped them in the 1995 final and did the same in the 1999 3rd place play-off, but in 2003 the All Blacks took one step in fixing that record.
One major drawback is that New Zealand have always had easy groups in World Cups, which has hindered their match readiness.
One result that the World Cup has thrown up time and time again is that the champions have beaten the defending champions at some stage during the competition, which is something New Zealand have not done in any tournament
Again this year the All Blacks are running into some good form prior to World Cup year, which they will host.
They are under massive pressure to annex the one grail that has constantly eluded them. Will they have learnt lessons from previous campaigns? Time will tell the story.
