It was the worst of times but it inspired the best of times. When New Zealand lost to France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup at the Millennium Stadium in 2007 and made their earliest exit from the tournament, a country slumped into stunned disbelief. “We were a bunch of boof-heads, a dumb rugby nation,” one commentator observed.
The All Blacks return to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday to face Wales and they will be back at the ground at next year’s World Cup, where they could again face France in the quarter-finals. The reaction to their blackest day in the professional era was not kneejerk but measured: the coaching team was retained after an independent review and Richie McCaw continued as captain. They were back on top of the world rankings within a year and have stayed there, rated by the England head coach, Stuart Lancaster, as probably the best team in any sport.
Their record since that 20-18 defeat in 2007 is 83 victories, two draws and 11 defeats, a success rate of 87%. South Africa are second in the world rankings and in that time they have lost half the number of games they have won; with two draws it gives them a success rate of 66%. In the past five years New Zealand have lost five Tests, two when they fielded weakened teams away in the Tri-Nations before the 2011 World Cup, which they won.
“We had a team that should have won the World Cup in 2007 but we stuffed it up because we expected to win it,” says Steve Hansen, an assistant coach then who took charge four years later. “We had the players but we didn’t have the mental mindset. You have to earn the right to win it and I don’t think we were hungry enough. Since then, we have got stronger mentally. We have done a lot of work on how to stay connected as a team rather than be individualised.”
Hansen cites the example of the hooker Keven Mealamu who, if he comes off the bench against Wales, will break Colin Meads’ record for a New Zealander of 361 first-class appearances. Mealamu, a 35-year-old, has started only one Test this year but, as his hold on the jersey weakens, he is helping to ensure those who take possession fit into it.
“Keven and Andrew Hore before him have helped change the ethos of the team,” says Hansen. “Their attitude is: ‘It’s not all about me, the team comes first.’ They help young guys in their position, making them feel comfortable and teaching them the tricks of the trade without fear of eventually losing their position. If you learn about the jersey before you get in it, it takes a lot of the pressure away.
“I have never been an All Black, I was never good enough. I would give up my whole coaching career just to have one game. New Zealand is only a small place and in rugby over the years we’ve proved that we’re pretty handy. As time has gone on the legacy of the team has grown such that young boys dream of becoming All Blacks. When you speak to anybody who’s become an All Black, they will say it’s always been their dream, and I don’t think they say that cheaply. Becoming an All Blacks is the easy part: once you get the opportunity, it is about enhancing the jersey.”
The All Blacks, who return home on Sunday, have lost one match in the past two calendar years, in South Africa last month when they fell to a late, disputed, long-range penalty. One of the reasons they are formidably hard to beat is the composure they show at the end of matches when physical and mental fatigue are at their highest: last-minute tries took them to victory in Dublin last year and Brisbane last month, while they denied England a draw in Auckland in June.
“It goes back to your boyhood and pretending to be an All Black on your back lawn,” says the second-row Sam Whitelock. “When you eventually get the jersey, you are fulfilling a long-held dream and you will always make sure you give everything you have. The desire started way back and that helps us see out games. Sometimes it takes until the last minute and for every one of us it is about leaving the jersey in a better condition than when you received it.”
New Zealand have won their past 25 matches against Wales, closing out more than a few, not least in 1978 in Cardiff when Andy Haden jumped out of a lineout to win a late penalty. Wales have been talking confidently this week but, even though they have been coached by a New Zealander for the past seven years, they have tended to find a way of losing tight matches in the autumn series rather than winning them. They will start strongly but will they finish?
