Indholdsfortegnelse for SPECIAL ISSUE 01 2017 i NZ Rugby World

THE ALL BLACKS’ STORY is not fully appreciated. Certainly not in New Zealand. Which is a bit odd, but that’s how it is. New Zealanders find it hard to realise the enormity of what the All Blacks have achieved and what they continue to do on the world stage. That might just be because as a nation, there is not a natural disposition to be overtly celebratory. The prevailing culture, perhaps because of the Celtic influence, is to be a little hesitant about embracing success. No good will come of it is the implication. It’s almost as if everyone worries that if they enjoy the moment, they will jinx it. If they stop to pat the All Blacks on the back, the team will stop winning. So what has happened…

The All Blacks played their first test against Australia in 1903 and have played another 551 since. They have won almost 79 per cent of their tests, a record which is vastly superior to all of their rivals. The only country that comes close is South Africa – the Springboks having amassed a win record of 65 per cent since they played their first test in 1891. HOW THEY COMPARE Overall Records of Top Nations [FAST FACTS] The All Blacks have played almost 25 per cent fewer tests than England and France and yet they have amassed, respectively, 41 and 27 more test wins than both. While the All Blacks have a win ratio of 79 per cent, they are actually, when draws are included, unbeaten in 81 per cent…

To the untrained eye, even to those who think they have a good handle on the game, it often appears as if the All Blacks are capable of extreme magic. It can look like they have conjured the most intricate plan and have equipped themselves with the most cunning tricks. Looks can be deceiving, though. So much of what the All Blacks do is not driven by or founded on intricacy or elaborate thinking. Rarely, if ever, do they spend much time formulating fancy moves or super clever ploys. It might look like they do, but that’s all an illusion. What their game is built on – what is at the core of their success – is their stunning ability to execute basic skills. It is not just a few…

1 PLAYER WELFARE At the heart of the centralised contract system is a desire to better protect the athletes and not overplay or overtrain them. Workloads can be carefully managed and pre-agreed so that both club and country feel they are getting the best out of the player who in turn doesn’t feel like he’s a commodity. 2 CONSISTENT DEVELOPMENT Conditioning and skill development programmes can be unified to ensure that what a player is required to do at All Blacks level is also relevant with his club. Similar training drills and conditioning targets mean athletes are able to make athletic gains. 3 SHARED KNOWLEDGE National coaches can learn about strengths and weaknesses of certain players and there is a flow of valuable information both ways. The All Blacks selectors…

RICHIE MCCAW TESTS: 148 AS CAPTAIN: 110 WIN RATIO AS CAPTAIN: 89 PER CENT The foundation of Richie McCaw’s captaincy was his ability as a player. He held the view that it was the captain’s responsibility to lead by example and that he was obligated to be, or at least try to be, the best player in the team. Performance would be the foundation of his leadership. Few would disagree that he achieved his goal – winning the World Rugby Player of the Year award three times and signing off as arguably the greatest rugby player in history. But there was more to his captaincy than form. He worked at his captaincy all the time, believing he needed to actively manage it rather than just rely on learning through experience.…

Looking back now, the All Blacks can be honest that there was a major hole in their set-up prior to 2004. They thought they had all the boxes ticked, but it turned out they hadn’t. They had the tactical stuff sorted. They knew how to build a gameplan that was all about them maximising their strengths and finding their opponents’ weaknesses. They had the technical work down pat. Their basic skills were sharp and never taken for granted. And their conditioning, their basic strength, speed and power was good. Maybe better than good. But they didn’t have much in the way of psychological skills. They didn’t really have any to be honest and that was because they simply didn’t realise the need for it. Mental strength was the missing piece…

For more than 20 years, even the All Blacks wondered whether they had a problem they were never going to cure. They had become the sporting equivalent of Achilles, immortal but for one flaw. That flaw was the World Cup. They won the first one in 1987, playing the sort of dynamic, highly skilled rugby that everyone knew them for. They were way too good in that inaugural tournament and used it to confirm that they were the world’s best side. It felt right that the All Blacks should be the first winners. They had, by any definition, been the most dominant side in the game up until that point. They were, sort of, the unofficial world champions when there was no tournament to actually determine who was the best…

ALL BLACKS TESTS BY DECADE [FAST FACTS] SOARING 60s The 1960s are the most successful decade in All Blacks history. They posted a win ratio of 87 per cent – a number boosted by what was at the time a world record of 17 consecutive test victories. The All Blacks only lost four tests in the entire 10- year period. ON TRACK The current decade is on course to surpass the 60s and post an even better win ratio. The All Blacks have only lost seven tests since 2010 and have also won two World Cups and claimed a world record 18 consecutive test victories. FADING 40s The 1940s were a decade to forget for the All Blacks. They only played 10 tests because of the war and also found…

The theory in New Zealand is that if the All Blacks stand still, they will actually be going backwards. Backwards because other countries won’t be standing still. It has been a healthy attitude for New Zealand’s rugby fraternity – one that has kept them hungry to keep bettering the way they do things. That hunger has been vital. It has meant that coaches, players and administrators have been open minded to new ideas. But more importantly, they have been proactive in generating new ideas about how they could be doing things. An innovative mind-set has been a critical part of the All Blacks’ success. The national team, in conjunction with the wider New Zealand rugby fraternity, have been willing to get ahead of problems. They continually analyse the game to…

1 FORM IS NOTHING Realisation that previous results count for nothing. Too many times All Blacks sides would come into World Cups believing they had already earned the right to win because they had beaten every team prior and were world number one. Changing the mindset to accept tournament play was a law unto itself made a huge difference. 2 ORGANIC PREPARATION From 2008, the All Blacks stopped building specific World Cup strategies ahead of the tournament. In 2002 they left players at home when they went to Europe and in 2007 they had the conditioning window. By 2008 they focused on each year as it came and didn’t stress about the World Cup. 3 CONSISTENT SELECTION A consequence of not building towards the World Cup was more consistent selection.…

New Zealand, not deliberately or belligerently, is a little different to the rest of the world. Across most of Europe, South America, Africa and large tracts of Asia, football is the dominant code. On any given day there will be millions of kids out and about, kicking a ball or playing pick-up games with jumpers down for goalposts in any free bit of space they can find. Football is the world’s game. It is the beautiful game. But that picture is not one that is necessarily found in New Zealand. It’s different in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Football isn’t the premier code and as such, young men aren’t out and about kicking a round ball to one another. In New Zealand thousands of kids will be in…

We saw the sense of nationalism the Springboks had that really galvanised them and we didn’t feel that we had. It was a combination of getting that leadership right and us understanding ourselves as New Zealanders.’ DARREN SHAND For much of the amateur era the All Blacks seemed to be able to stock their ranks with natural leaders. It wasn’t a deliberate strategy as such. It just seemed to happen that way, perhaps because New Zealand was a developing, predominantly agricultural country where hard work, resourcefulness and resilience were built into every day life. The pioneering spirit was in-built into the All Blacks and with it, they had men who could problem solve, take on responsibility to fix things and understand the need to work collectively. Throughout the 90-plus years…

1 Who was the All Black coach who controversially dropped captain Wayne Shelford in 1990? 2 How many test matches had Keith Murdoch played before he was banished from the 1973 tour? A.3, B.6, C.11, D.14 3 Which Lions touring team became the first and only Lions team to record a series win over the All Blacks? 4 Who, on the 1924/25 Invincibles tour, became the first All Black to be sent off in a test match? 5 Who was the All Black forward who scored 3 tries on debut against Tonga in 2000? 6 Who scored 2 tries for the All Blacks in their famous upset loss to France in the 1999 World Cup? 7 Against which team did the All Blacks achieve their 18th consecutive win during the…