Five Reasons why New Zealand Rule the Rugby World

The New Zealand All Blacks “have been almost untouchable” for four years and World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry believes the current class of All Blacks were better than the group that lifted the 2011 Webb Ellis Cup.

Their 42 wins, two draws and just three losses make the All Blacks – now coached by Steve Hansen the World Cup favourites.

The Daily Telegraph spoke to former Kiwi captain Justin Marshall and came up with five reasons why the New Zealand All Blacks  rule the rugby world.

1. Leadership: “Leadership is an aspect that separates the All Blacks from most teams, the Wallabies included”.  Besides plenty of talent, the All Blacks also have plenty of leaders – Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Keven Mealamu, Conrad Smith and Ben Smith to name a few.

2. Stability: The All Blacks have core players. “Cast your eye back to the 2011 World Cup final and you’ll see Tony Woodcock and Owen Franks as the starting props and Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw and Kieran Read in the backrow.” In 2015 they are still almost always in the starting XV.

3. Faith: The ABs “have a real faith in their game plan and the players that they can get the best out of within that game plan”.

4. Depth: “The All Blacks have an embarrassment of riches in the five-eighth position” (Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett & Lima Sopoaga)

5. Hunger: After their loss in Sydney, the All Blacks “jumped immediately back on the saddle.” “There’s a willingness to go the extra yard in New Zealand rugby.” One classic example is Dane Coles scoring the opening try of the Bledisloe decider at Eden Park.

Article Source: The Daily Telegraph, Christy Doran, August 18, 2015.

Image Source: Twitter – Lauren