All Blacks: Walking towards pressure

World Cups don't present anything out of the ordinary for the All Blacks in terms of pressure and expectations. Photo / Brett Phibbs

All Blacks know nothing’s lying ahead at World Cup that they haven’t braved before.

The All Blacks wouldn't dream of leaving home these days without a mantra. They love a campaign slogan - a wrap-it-all-up catchline that reveals plenty about how they are viewing what lies ahead.

They no doubt have a few tucked away to use as they progress through the World Cup, but the overriding theme - the one umbrella term that underpins their approach to this World Cup - is that they will "walk towards the pressure".

World Cups create a whole new level of expectation, intensity of scrutiny, and pressure. It can be suffocating and debilitating and plenty of teams over the years - think Ireland 2007, Wales 1991, England 2011 - have been crushed by it.

The All Blacks, too, have had their troubles coping over the years, but what this team have come to realise is that World Cups don't present anything out of the ordinary for them in terms of pressure and expectation.

This is the huge advantage they have - every test they play has everything riding on it. The All Blacks can't ever escape their legacy.

Wherever they play; whoever they play, whatever their injury count or form, the All Blacks take the field with four million New Zealanders expecting to see a victory.

The World Cup is just more of the same: more people, more noise, more riding on it ... but still the same. "Walk towards the pressure" is about establishing in the players' minds that nothing abnormal lies ahead. They don't have to be hesitant or fear they will encounter anything they haven't experienced before.

And it's apparent the message has got through. The All Blacks have been super relaxed since arriving in England. They have come to enjoy the experience - something not many of them did in 2011. As hosts and having not won since 1987, they were held prisoner by a mixture of their obsessive desire to win and the claustrophobic nature of having millions of well-wishers on their doorstep.

They understand the luxury of their position and are equally aware that for the other main contenders, the World Cup thrusts them into new territory. For the next month or so, the likes of England, Ireland, Wales and Australia get some insight into the All Blacks' world. There's nowhere to hide in that world. It's a relentless place. Reality doesn't get a look in and that's the hardest part for the challengers to accept. There can be no excuses. They can't convince themselves they are the underdogs and that it will be enough to get close.

Brave but losing performances might be enough to appease the critics in the Six Nations, or the Rugby Championship in Australia's case, but they won't cut it at the World Cup. Victory is the only acceptable outcome and that's tough for teams when they aren't used to it. That's why it won't be a surprise to see some of the major contenders make unusual selection decisions during the pool rounds and be overly conservative in their approach.

Adding to that suspicion is that on arrival South African coach Heyneke Meyer declared that the rolling maul, scrums and breakdown will be where the World Cup is won and lost.

His views are no doubt shared by many other coaches, with teams believing they have to take a new and fearful approach to World Cups.

The All Blacks aren't in this camp - they are walking towards the pressure on their own.

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