NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / Sport / Rugby / All Blacks

All Blacks: Hunt for perfection makes ABs look invincible

By Oliver Brown
Daily Telegraph UK·
18 Nov, 2013 04:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

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 are in pursuit of 80-minute perfection. Photo / Getty Images
The All Blacks are in pursuit of 80-minute perfection. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks are in pursuit of 80-minute perfection. Photo / Getty Images

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

So the date is named, the place is set for the crossing of rugby's Rubicon.

At a little past 3.30pm next Sunday, at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, the All Blacks are expected to become the first international team in the professional era to enjoy the perfect season.

Fourteen test matches, 14 victories, and one giant buttressing of their awesome hegemony since winning the 2011 World Cup on home turf.

"The most dominant team in the history of the world," they called themselves. We had better start believing it.

True, they looked passably mortal for the hour between their second and third Twickenham tries.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But for a couple of lineout steals as England's continuity dissolved, and the most sterling locking shift by Sam Whitelock on the occasion of his 50th cap, the narrative as the men in black headed to Ireland yesterday might not have been nearly so seamless.

Yet it's worth considering that despite Chris Robshaw's hideously empurpled eye, and Dylan Hartley hurling himself so hard at Richie McCaw that he bruised his lung, New Zealand still prevailed by eight points.

In those rare instances when the contest is on the line in the final quarter, they remain maddeningly impregnable.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was not a "wow" performance by most All Black measurements, either. Steve Hansen described his players' discipline as "average" in their gifting of five penalties to Owen Farrell, while McCaw lamented that the display was "by no means perfect".

Even Kieran Read, by common consent the planet's finest player in 2013, was guilty of a grade-school lapse when he knocked on to let Joe Launchbury score England's try.

But then Read had also hinted at the depth of New Zealand's tenacity when he highlighted their capacity to "fight until the 80th minute, to go to those places and grind out the tough ones". Ultimately, this cussedness proved their crucial distinction.

Just once in 34 matches since reclaiming the Webb Ellis Trophy have they been beaten and much chatter, predictably, focuses upon whether the All Black juggernaut tearing a swathe across northern Europe are truly the greatest team in history.

Discover more

All Blacks

All Blacks: Whitelock comes of age

17 Nov 04:30 PM
Opinion

Fabulous test at great venue

17 Nov 04:30 PM
Sport|rugby

Rugby: Beaten England show commitment to the cause

17 Nov 04:30 PM
All Blacks

Cruden alert to last-game banana skin

17 Nov 04:30 PM

In the consummate Read, the granite-willed McCaw, and the tirelessly scrapping blindside Liam Messam, they possess a peerless back row. Julian Savea, the match-winner against England with his two tries, and a wing who somehow combines his explosive bursts with his diagnosis as an asthmatic, is also a singular talent. Israel Dagg is a fullback to die for, while on the right Charles Piutau, 21, produced pace and power.

With two tries in Paris and a Twickenham debut of poise and polish, Piutau has been blooded effortlessly into a side that also has four men with 100 caps or more. That's the defining Kiwi blend of young bucks and grizzled old hands - we easily forget that while New Zealand's starting XV at Twickenham boasted a combined 842 caps, versus England's 314, they also had an average age of only 26.

There are signs of a changing of the guard. McCaw, at 32 already past the customary peak for an openside flanker, cannot go on forever.

And Dan Carter, despite his "DC100" gold boots to mark his century of tests, also had never looked more vulnerable than when he went off after 23 minutes with an Achilles problem. Such was the conviction with which Aaron Cruden filled the breach that even Carter's starting place no longer appears guaranteed.

By the time England arrive for a three-test tour of New Zealand in June, the All Blacks could be into the post-Carter generation. But their strength in reserve is such that this ostensibly momentous change is all but imperceptible in the outcome.

This side might not be the best, but their ceaseless pursuit of 80-minute perfection means they are as close to invincible as sport has ever seen.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from All Blacks

Premium
OpinionLiam Napier

All Blacks review: Best player, biggest concern and where they missed a trick

All Blacks

All Blacks veteran taking Japan sabbatical, re-signs beyond World Cup

Premium
OpinionPaul Lewis

Paul Lewis: French did the All Blacks a real favour but still questions remain


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Legendary British jazz singer Cleo Laine dies at 97
Entertainment

Legendary British jazz singer Cleo Laine dies at 97

Large fire breaks out at former Auckland uni campus and police training centre
New Zealand

Large fire breaks out at former Auckland uni campus and police training centre

'State-of-the-art': Golf club completes $3m development
Bay of Plenty Times

'State-of-the-art': Golf club completes $3m development

How a CFO labelled a 'money mule' in $400k laundering case had his convictions overturned
Crime

How a CFO labelled a 'money mule' in $400k laundering case had his convictions overturned

Body found in the water at Auckland's Arkles Bay
New Zealand

Body found in the water at Auckland's Arkles Bay

South Island leads economic recovery as regional divide widens
New Zealand

South Island leads economic recovery as regional divide widens



Latest from All Blacks

Premium
Premium
All Blacks review: Best player, biggest concern and where they missed a trick
Liam Napier
OpinionLiam Napier

All Blacks review: Best player, biggest concern and where they missed a trick

OPINION: There were bright lights for Scott Robertson, but also concerns about depth.

23 Jul 06:00 PM
All Blacks veteran taking Japan sabbatical, re-signs beyond World Cup
All Blacks

All Blacks veteran taking Japan sabbatical, re-signs beyond World Cup

22 Jul 11:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Paul Lewis: French did the All Blacks a real favour but still questions remain
Paul Lewis
OpinionPaul Lewis

Paul Lewis: French did the All Blacks a real favour but still questions remain

22 Jul 01:20 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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
search by queryly Advanced Search