KEY POINTS:
WELLINGTON - Most New Zealanders believe winning the rugby world cup is their destiny, but one glaring hole in their packed trophy cabinet and the taunts of George Gregan say otherwise.
Instead, the All Blacks are saddled with the twin tags of being the world's top-ranked side and top-ranked chokers.
It is a mantle which coach Graham Henry has tested all boundaries in trying to eliminate during an elaborate four-year build up to France 2007.
His All Blacks have been Tri-Nations champions for the past three years, are unbeaten as Bledisloe Cup holders, beat reigning world champions England home and away, beat Sir Clive Woodward's British and Irish Lions, won a rare Grand Slam against the four Home Unions and thrashed France 45-6 in Paris.
On the other side of the ledger, Henry has been accused of cheapening the All Blacks jersey by experimenting with more than 50 players in 2006 trying to establish across-the-board depth.
This year he was off-side with Australia and South Africa by pulling his top 22 players from the first half of the Super 14 competition to put them through a tailor-made conditioning programme.
Through it all he has fashioned a side that plays with width and pace, with a strong bench capable of increasing the tempo in the final quarter.
The All Blacks also showed when they beat Australia in this year's winner-takes-all Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup finale that they can readily revert to crunching forward play up the middle when the occasion demands.
It is a winning formula that has seen Henry guide the All Blacks to 38 victories from 43 Tests in his four-year reign, but as impressive as that record may seem he knows his reputation hangs on the World Cup.
"There is an appetite in this country for the All Blacks to win the World Cup, and I can understand that appetite," he says.
"We are a very focused rugby nation and the success of the rugby team is important to the psyche of the nation. We understand that, we agree with that and we live by that."
New Zealand was a driving force towards establishing a World Cup, and they co-hosted the inaugural tournament in 1987 which the All Blacks duly won with a 29-9 victory over France in the final.
Since then, however, the path to world glory has been strewn with 20 years of All Blacks' failures.
In 1991 they were undone in the semi-finals 16-6 by eventual champions Australia and four years later were beaten in the final 15-12 by South Africa.
A second-half comeback by France saw them beat the All Blacks 43-31 in the 1991 semi-finals and in 2003 came the famous Gregan taunt as they went down to the Wallabies 22-10 in the semi-finals.
"Four more years, boys" smirked Gregan as the All Blacks, with their chokers tag, trudged from the field.
Now the four years are up and Henry's men go under the spotlight again.
In captain and openside flanker Richie McCaw as well as first five-eighths Daniel Carter they have two of the world's leading game breakers.
McCaw emerges peerless from the dark underworld of the breakdown and Carter is openly ranked by his opponents as the No 1 pivot with top drawer attacking and defensive skills complemented by an accurate boot.
The explosive speed of cousins Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu on the wings and the penetration of fullbacks Mils Muliaina and Leon MacDonald give the All Blacks potent strike power out wide.
First choice props Carl Hayman and Tony Woodcock with either frontline hooker - Anton Oliver or Keven Mealamu - can generally out-scrum any front row in the world, and added to the forward package is the destructive power of Jerry Collins and Sione Lauaki.
But alongside these strengths are glaring weaknesses headed by the All Blacks woeful lineout which no amount of specialist coaching has so far been able to cure.
There is also a question mark over their midfield stability now that experienced general Aaron Mauger seems to have slipped behind Luke McAlister in the pecking order.
McAlister and Isaia Toeava tend to mix flashes of brilliance with basic handling and passing errors while the injury prone Conrad Smith has had too few chances to show his deft skills.
Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer calls the All Blacks a team in decline since the 45-6 demolition of France three years ago
"I've never seen any team play like they did for the full 80 minutes that day, so in some ways, it's inevitable they're in decline," he said.
"When you are at an absolute peak, the only way you can go is down."
But Henry has glossed over some sub-par performances and narrow wins since then to say his ultimate goal lies ahead.
"The thing that this team hasn't done for 20 years is win a rugby World Cup," he sighs.
"We've won everything else and we're probably the most successful rugby nation in the world ... but it would be nice to put that icing on the cake."
COACH
Graham Henry
Former school master who rose to rugby prominence coaching Auckland to four consecutive national championships between 1993-96 and the Auckland Blues to Super 12 titles in 1996-97. In 1998, after being overlooked as All Blacks coach he was appointed coach of Wales, earning the nickname "Great Redeemer" as he guided the side to 11 consecutive victories. In 2001 he became the first outsider to coach the British and Irish Lions. Since taking over as All Blacks coach in 2004 the side has won 38 of 43 Tests and Henry was named IRB coach of the year in 2005 and 2006.
KEY PLAYER
Daniel Carter, first five-eighths
Age 25. Tests 41. Test points 636. Height 1.78m. Weight 91kg.
Recognised as probably the best first five-eighths in the world, Carter's array of skills include great acceleration, a deceptive sidestep and crunching tackles, as well as being an excellent tactician and accurate goalkicker. He was named the International Rugby Board player of the year in 2005 after outstanding performances against the British and Irish Lions. Carter is currently third on the All Blacks all-time points-scoring list but has scored more tries (12) and more points per Test (14.75) than either of the players ahead of him - Grant Fox and Andrew Mehrtens.
- AFP
