Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Editorial: Team leave great legacy

Rotorua Daily Post
1 Nov, 2015 08:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The All Blacks have made history as back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions.

The All Blacks have made history as back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions.

Greatness excellence to deserve the accolade.

But the 2015 All Blacks will go down in history as one of the truly great rugby teams, after they won the Rugby World Cup in a pulsating 34-17 victory over Australia at Twickenham yesterday morning.

The All Blacks are the first team to win back-to-back Rugby World Cups and the first to hold aloft the golden Webb Ellis Cup three times. The record has been a long time coming for patient New Zealand supporters, who can now forget the agony of previous failed campaigns.

But there is so much more to this All Blacks team than cold, hard facts. The total commitment to free-flowing, 15-man rugby is to be commended. It is a style that brings joy to those watching and needs to be emulated in the Northern Hemisphere if the game is to make ground into football's dominance.

The All Blacks were clearly the dominant team in yesterday's final but great credit must go to the valiant Wallabies, who refused to give in. Typical of the fickle nature of sport, there were some nervous times before the final whistle. Fans watching at home or at various public settings in the Western Bay, would have started celebrating early as the All Blacks rushed out to a 21-3 lead early in the second spell.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But the sin-binning of Ben Smith gave the Australians a chance and they took full advantage of the extra man to score two tries and close the gap to just four points. But up stepped man of the match Dan Carter, in his final test for the All Blacks, to land two quite remarkable goals to give his team the respite they needed.

Carter, captain Richie McCaw, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu and Keven Mealamu all ended their test careers as winners. They will take some replacing. First-five Carter and openside flanker McCaw will be remembered as the best players to ever play for the All Blacks in their positions. It has been a privilege to watch them develop from precocious schoolboys to international legends.

What a wonderful legacy they leave for Reporoa's Sam Cane and others who will now take ownership of those jerseys.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Discover more

Editorial: Posting MPs' spends great

26 Oct 08:00 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'I wasn't prepared to wait': Youngest Govt MP on seizing his big opportunity

09 Jul 12:26 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM

Heavy rain watch for Bay of Plenty from 1pm Friday to 5am Saturday.

'I wasn't prepared to wait': Youngest Govt MP on seizing his big opportunity

'I wasn't prepared to wait': Youngest Govt MP on seizing his big opportunity

09 Jul 12:26 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
‘Very committed’: Williamson not done with Black Caps despite Zimbabwe snub

‘Very committed’: Williamson not done with Black Caps despite Zimbabwe snub

09 Jul 12:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP