2019 Rugby World Cup: All Blacks' mana undimmed, grief will pass - expert

Sonny Bill Williams consoles Ofa Tu'ungafasi after the All Blacks were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup. Photo / Getty Images

"Yes, we're disappointed, but it's time to share the Cup around."

That's how one expert believes New Zealanders are reacting to the All Blacks' unexpected loss to England.

Professor Toni Bruce, a sociologist of sport at the University of Auckland, has surveyed New Zealanders during every Rugby World Cup since 2007 and believes that this time around the national mourning will be short-lived.

"The general feeling is that some people would be really depressed, but it would pass quite quickly," she said.

"So I think there is this sense that we don't need to have that anxiety that we had in 2011 and even in 2015, because the All Blacks have shown that they can beat the best in the world, so there may be a bit of openness to maybe it's time to share this around."

Professor Toni Bruce has found that only 29 per cent of Kiwis felt an All Black win was personally important to them this year. Photo / Supplied

Bruce found intense emotions when New Zealand were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup by France in the quarter-finals - the fifth World Cup in a row which the All Blacks failed to win after winning the first tournament in 1987.

"People were not prepared for a quarter-final loss so there was sort of an emotional feeling in their bodies, people didn't know how to react," she said.

"This time around it's more, 'I'm sad and I'm disappointed, but actually it's not so deeply emotionally disturbing because it's not really impacting the All Blacks' mana so much'."

Bruce's surveys, conducted online, found that in the run-up to the 2011 World Cup which New Zealand hosted, 52 per cent of New Zealanders felt it was personally important to them that the All Blacks won.

A psychologist says the All Blacks might be preparing for Kiwis "to be a bit mean to them" over their loss to England. Photo / Mark Mitchell

That slipped only slightly to 46 per cent during the 2015 World Cup in Britain. It was 49 per cent in the 2007 Cup.

But this year, with more than 350 responses in so far, only 29 per cent felt that an All Black win was important for them.

Although Bruce said the numbers feeling it's important usually started low and built up during each tournament, that's lower than at this stage in any of the past three World Cups.

On the other hand, a vast majority in every year felt an All Black win was important to "other New Zealanders" - 76 per cent in 2007, 83 per cent in 2011, 71 per cent in 2015 and 74 per cent so far this year.

Steve Hansen and Kieran Read after their shock defeat: a sociologist says this time the national grief will pass because the All Blacks' mana is undimmed. Photo / Getty Images

Bruce said a 1995-96 survey of 24 nations, which has never been repeated, found that New Zealanders came first-equal in the world, with Ireland, on the importance of sport in their national identity.

"Some other countries chose art or literature," she said.

"New Zealanders in general pin a lot of our sense of national identity on success in sport because, other than perhaps recently movies and music, that is really the main area that we are successful."

And rugby was the main sport defining our identity because of the All Blacks' long record of success dating back to their first overseas tour in 1905-06.

"Rugby has the longest history of us being successful," she said.

For generations, young Kiwi males also played rugby more than any other sport. As late as the year 2000, 30,621 NZ secondary school students played rugby, way ahead of soccer (20,787) or basketball (16,471).

But other sports have grown faster since then. By last year, the 25,317 secondary students still playing rugby came in third behind netball (27,139) and basketball (26,481) and only just ahead of soccer (23,513).

Bruce said another factor this year was the "disruption" caused by the World Cup games being available only live on Spark and late at night.

Devonport pub The Patriot's beloved car Myrtle was smashed up following the All Blacks' loss to England in the Rugby World Cup semifinal. Photo / Facebook

A small group of angry fans smashed the windows of a British Mini owned by the Patriot pub in Devonport on Saturday night, apparently because it had a Union Jack painted on the roof.

Sara Chatwin says the All Blacks themselves will be most affected by their World Cup loss. Photo / File

But psychologist Sara Chatwin urged people to recognise that the All Blacks themselves would be most affected by their loss.

She said the team might be preparing for Kiwis "to be a bit mean to them". She urged people to just take a breath and surround themselves with good friends and family and stay positive that the All Blacks will be back.