Zinny: Power of ABs jersey more important than superstars

Ma'a Nonu (L) and Dan Carter (R) of the All Blacks with the Bledisloe Cup following The Rugby Championship. Photo / Getty Images.

The power of the All Blacks jersey is New Zealand's World Cup edge and not the superstars within the team - says one of the most gifted and skilled players to have ever worn the iconic shirt.

Writing in the London Telegraph, Zinzan Brooke told English readers hoping their national team can win the Webb Ellis Trophy on home soil that they under-estimated the motivation the All Blacks drew from their storied history at their peril.

Pulling on the jersey, he wrote, was "something almost spiritual".

The 58-test backrower who retired in 1987 said the All Blacks' results in the past four years, where they have lost just three times in 55 games, could not be achieved by player strength only.

"People keep saying "well next year New Zealand will have a dip", but it never happens," said Brooke who now lives in England and is eagerly sought out as an expert commentator. "Richie McCaw has an 89 per cent win record in 142 Tests, so he effectively only loses one in every 10 games. If you are walking on the pitch beside him that must have such an uplifting effect, while you can just imagine the impact it has on the opposition."

Brooke said New Zealand's thrashing of Australia at Eden Park after dropping their only test match of the season the week before in Sydney was always going to happen because of the pride that drove the game in this country.

"So how do you explain that consistent level of success?" Brooke posed in his column before answering his own question.

"New Zealand is a small country...so it is not because of the playing numbers. Let's also dismiss the notion that New Zealanders are somehow genetically predisposed to become great players. They're not. Great players, as opposed to talented individuals, are made rather than born that way. Nor is it because of money. Other unions have far greater resources at their disposal.

"If it is not because of the money or players, how do New Zealand consistently set the bar so high? In my opinion, it is because of the culture that revolves around earning the right to wear that black shirt. Every year people who wear that shirt create history and leave a benchmark for the next generation to aspire to."

"That is the legacy which will be left after this World Cup by individuals such as McCaw, Dan Carter and Ma'a Nonu, who have worn it with pride and distinction over the past decade. It is about submitting yourself to an ideal far bigger than your individual ambitions.

"The shirt demands that you leave ego at the door. There are some people who want to take something from the game as opposed to giving something to it. If you take something out of it and don't want to give back then you will be exposed very quickly.
"Some people measure professionalism by how much money you are paid; I would argue that professionalism is about attitude. The money is the by-product of the dedication.

And that's the greatest compliment I can pay to individuals such as McCaw, Carter, Nonu and Conard Smith: they have been wonderful professionals for New Zealand, not in the sense of earning the most money but being four of the most dedicated All Blacks."

Brooke said he still vividly remembered the first time he wore the All Blacks jersey in 1987 as a 21-year-old making his debut against Argentina, New Zealand's first hurdle at this World Cup.

"The Pumas, who had the great Hugo Porta, were a very good team. We came very close to losing to them a couple of years before, drawing 21-21 in Buenos Aires, so it was far from a gentle easing in. I was a bundle of nerves anyway and then I was asked if I wanted to lead the haka. I said "of course", but inside I was thinking "please, no".

So I was making my debut in a position (at openside) I had barely played and also leading the haka. I was absolutely c---ping myself and did not get a wink of sleep. I still remember waking up at 5am and going for walk down in Wellington. I came back at 6.45, had a cup of tea, a small breakfast, went back to bed and nearly slept through our line-out session.

"Clearly, John Hart, the coach, could recognise the pressure etched on my face. After our morning training session, he took me to one side and just told me to play like I had done for Auckland. He said: "Do the Haka right and then everything will take care of itself, you'll be in your comfort zone. Do that and you'll do the shirt proud."

Brooke said the power of the jersey helped him through the match.

"You have such a hunger to earn that shirt in the first place and then once you have tasted it you become even more desperate to keep it and make it your own. That is the great power that the All Black history has. Many a great man has donned the jersey and it is that sense of earning your own little niche in history that means we as a small nation of four million people can continually raise that bar to a level where people cannot stay with us."

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