The All Blacks have never sent a more dominant team to a Rugby World Cup, but history shows the form team of the previous four years rarely triumphs.
THE RECORD
Since Richie McCaw held the William Webb Ellis Trophy aloft at Eden Park, the All Blacks record is formidable, even by their lofty standards. It reads: played 47, won 42, lost three, drawn two.
Their win ratio of 89 per cent is the best of any All Black team in between World Cups, the next best amongst their rivals for the title in 2015 is South Africa at 66 per cent - they have lost nine more games than the All Blacks since 2011.
In that time the All Blacks have scored 170 tries at an average of 3.6 per game and scored on average 32 points while conceding 16. Their average points differential of plus-16 is almost eight better than South Africa. Australia's average points differential since the last World Cup is -0.2.
In the four-year lead-up to the 2011 cup the All Blacks lost nine of their 48 games for a win ratio of 81 per cent, France lost 15 out of 38 in that same period and had an average differential 13 points worse than the All Blacks, as we all know they were one penalty kick away from winning the final.
FORM IS NO GUIDE
Ominously for New Zealand fans, the other World Cups where the All Blacks had similar lead-in form were 1991 and 2007.
The All Blacks entered the 1991 tournament in England as defending champs with an 88 per cent win ratio between World Cups. They also had an impressive average differential of plus-17.8.
Their record in the final 12 months leading up to the cup was won five, lost one. Those were the days before professionalism and the All Blacks played about half the games they do currently.
At the tournament they scraped past hosts England 18-12 in the opening game, kicking six penalties to four in a try-less game, won their two pool games against USA and Italy (albeit the latter by only 10 points), were too good for Canada in the quarter-final, before losing to Australia in 16-6 in the semi-final.
Perhaps significantly, the 1991 Australians, who would go on to beat England in the final, had fought their way out of a difficult pool that included Argentina, Samoa and co-hosts Wales. They then met another co-host Ireland in Dublin in the quarter-final, winning 19-18. Compare that to the relatively easy run in to the semifinals for the All Blacks.
In 2007 the All Blacks also had an 88 per cent win ratio between World Cups, the 12-month lead-up featured 10 wins from 11 games and 4.55 tries per game. That included two home wins by 31 and 51 points against France, who would knock them out of the tournament in quarterfinals.
The All Blacks drew another ridiculously easy pool in 2007, defeating Italy, Portugal, Scotland and Romania by an average of 68.5 points before crashing out in Cardiff.
In the history of the World Cup only two winning teams can be said to have entered the tournament as the form team - the 2011 All Blacks and England in 2003.
England won 88 per cent of their games in the period between the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, in the 12 months before the tournament they won 12 games and lost just one and were on average 23 points better than their opponents per game.
At the tournament they faced a difficult path to the final, having to overcome South Africa, Samoa, Wales and France before facing Australia in the final - which they won in extra-time with a dropgoal.
Outside of this team and the 2011 All Blacks, the eventual World Cup winners have all had less than stellar form in the years preceding the tournament.
OTHER WORLD CUP WINNERS
The 1987 All Blacks won 70 per cent of their games in the four-year lead-up and had three wins and three losses in the 12 months prior to the tournament.
In 1991 Wallabies had won less than half their games since the 1987 World Cup and went on to lift the trophy.
Likewise the 1995 South African team, who went 10 wins, 10 losses and two draws for a 45 per cent win ratio in the four years prior to winning the tournament.
The 1999 Australians won 67 per cent of the time in the four years leading up to their second triumph, although their record of won seven, lost two in the final 12 months hints at an upward trend in form.
While the 2007 South Africans were far from a sure bet leading into the tournament, they won 61 per cent of games in the four-year period prior to the 2007 World Cup.
- Stuff
