KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks may as well get used to it - the World Cup chokers label is already being fixed around their necks by the British rugby press.
In a seemingly unprompted column for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, respected writer Mick Cleary has theorised that the World Cup in France is far from a one-horse race.
In the article headlined "Where the All Blacks will go wrong", Cleary acknowledged the All Blacks' outstanding record over the past two years, having won 19 of their past 20 tests. Every other major contender has been "smashed" at some point since the 2003 tournament, he noted.
But Cleary honed in on New Zealand's poor return from previous World Cups as reason for other nations to have heart.
"Is the 2007 Rugby World Cup a foregone conclusion? Do New Zealand only have to turn up to win it? I'm delighted to report that the answer on both counts is 'no'," he wrote.
"They have the best-balanced, most experienced coaching team in the competition ... they're also brimful of individual talent.
"Form, coaches, players - damn. Where's the fault line? In their heads, that's where. The All Blacks want to win this Rugby World Cup too much."
In a theme likely to be repeated by other commentators in the leadup to the tournament, Cleary asks whether the New Zealand players will be able to handle the pressure of the big occasion.
The All Blacks have fallen short since the 1987 inaugural event - "a shabby return" in Cleary's eyes - and the weight of expectation will become unbearable on the players entrusted with ending a 20-year drought.
"Every team wants to win, of course. New Zealand have to win. That's the difference," he wrote. "The tension gets to them. "So, pick a side from these three - South Africa, Australia or France.
"Perhaps even Ireland as outsiders.
"Or, let's put it another way, could New Zealand somehow lose the World Cup? You see, once you phrase it in those terms, anything really is possible."
- NZPA
