1. NEW ZEALAND, 2015
You have to look at the manner of yesterday’s victory – silky smooth to begin with, then they absorbed the Australian comeback and sealed the victory with Dan Carter in full flow. It sets them apart. There was such pressure on New Zealand to do it again and they did it, chasing away all the demons that have gone with winning the World Cup for a second time. They could have relaxed after 2011 and said we’ve achieved all we set out to do and yet they chose to do the opposite and say: we are going to get better. They stayed way ahead of the rest. It’s all about the way they think about the game, analyse opponents and analyse themselves.
2. NEW ZEALAND, 1987
They were head and shoulders above anything the world had seen. It was the amateur age – professionalism has since allowed others to close the gap. They were by spirit, if not in the wallet, professionals so they had a clear advantage over players who were doing it for love. It was the New Zealand of John Gallagher, John Kirwan, Grant Fox, Wayne Shelford and Sean Fitzpatrick - they were the masters of the game at that time.
3. LIONS, 1971
They were simply brilliant. Barry John, Mike Gibson, Gareth Edwards, Mervyn Davies … the only Lions team ever to have won in New Zealand. They played with such flair and acknowledged that to win in New Zealand you had to absorb the physical side of the game. And they were brilliantly coached by Carwyn James.
