Rugby World Cup 2015: All Blacks banish 'Ghoullabies' halloween hoodoo

New Zealand All Blacks prop Charlie Faumuina, during the press conference at their hotel Pennyhill Park, Bagshot, Surrey, London. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Superstitious New Zealanders can relax and gleeful Australian supporters can begin worrying - the All Blacks supposed Halloween hoodoo was banished six years ago, when they walloped the Wallabies in a Bledisloe Cup clash in Tokyo.

Australian media have been quick to embrace talk that the All Blacks are spooked about Sunday's World Cup final falling on October 31, after a NZ Herald story yesterday revealed their historical struggles on Halloween.

However, the story neglected to mention an All Blacks victory from Halloween 2009, when Dan Carter led New Zealand to a Bledisloe Cup clean-sweep against the Wallabies with a 32-19 win at Tokyo's National Stadium.

It took an avid All Blacks fan and Herald reader, the eagle-eyed Mike Ravlich, to alert us to the fact the All Blacks successfully overcame their supposed Halloween curse in the 2009 late season trans-Tasman encounter, after our overworked and fatigued team of rugby analysts initially overlooked the result.

"The most pertinent Halloween test is the Bledisloe Cup game in Tokyo in 2009 where the All Blacks won 32-19," Ravlich informed the Herald via email.

"We had a great time in a very spirited Roppongi immediately after the game with Halloween in full force."

The good news for New Zealand fans is that this key piece of information changes everything.

The All Blacks will stride forth confidently towards their date with destiny at Twickenham, safe in the knowledge that they exorcised their Halloween demons six years ago.

Prior to the 2009 Tokyo match, however, the All Blacks run of results on Halloween made for scary reading.

Some of their most inglorious and famous defeats fell on this day, starting in 1973 with the 9-3 defeat to Llanelli, before the 1978 All Blacks lost 12-0 to Munster.

In more recent times, one of the All Blacks' most extraordinary and painful defeats came in the 43-31 semifinal loss to France at the 1999 World Cup. The John Hart-coached side had led 24-10 early in the second half before imploding.

Two more losses can also be considered Halloween defeats.

On October 30, 1963, the All Blacks fell 3-0 to Newport in Wales. The match, of course, took place in the early Halloween hours in New Zealand.

Then there was October 30, 1990 (October 31, NZT), as well, when the All Blacks went down 18-12 to a south-west French composite side known as Cote Basque-Landes in Bayonne.

New Zealand fans can now breathe easy.

Ravlich might just have been the good luck charm the All Blacks needed to break the Halloween spell, and thankfully, he will again be on hand to watch them in their quest to become the first team to win three World Cup's and the first to claim back-to-back Webb Ellis crowns.

"I will be at Twickenham on Saturday with my wife and a bunch of mates and we are looking forward to even more enthusiastic Halloween celebrations in London than we had in Tokyo," he said.