Nominees for Herald’s best sporting achievement of year with winner announced on Saturday.
A year which ended on an almost perfect note, with a scintillating finish against Wales at Millennium Stadium, was, unlike last year, not without its flaws in terms of results but it still reaffirmed the All Blacks as by far the best team in the world.
Low points were the12-12 draw in the Sydney drizzle in August in which neither team scored a try, but Australia probably deserved to win, a point acknowledged by All Black coach Steve Hansen.
There was also the 27-25 defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg, only Hansen's second loss as head coach, but it featured the sort of storming finish which his team is becoming famous for and they could have won but for a controversial decision by referee Wayne Barnes to award the Boks a penalty for Liam Messam's high tackle on Schalk Burger with the help of a big-screen replay.
Pat Lambie kicked the long-range penalty for the victory. High points were the three-test sweep of England in June, plus the demolition of the Wallabies at Eden Park. And, like last year when they got out of jail against Ireland in Dublin, the All Blacks' conclusion to the year was again triumphant, but for different reasons.
They coped superbly with Dane Coles' sinbinning to roll over the top of England at an intimidating Twickenham, and, a week after scrambling to victory over Scotland at Murrayfield with a second-string line-up, fought out a memorable test in Cardiff when twice coming from scoreboard deficits to blitz Wales with a final 11 minutes the home side simply couldn't cope with, tries from Beauden Barrett (two) and Kieran Read taking them to a 34-16 victory.
The All Blacks finished the year with four men vying for the No10 jersey in Barrett, Dan Carter, Aaron Cruden and Colin Slade and the rise of Malakai Fekitoa and return of Sonny Bill Williams boosting their midfield stocks.
Keven Mealamu celebrated a milestone in reaching 362 first-class matches, breaking Colin Meads' New Zealand record, with Richie McCaw leading his team in 100 tests in Cardiff, 10 years after he made his debut as skipper on the same ground.
The All Blacks finished the year as the world's No1 team for the seventh year in a row. They scooped the IRB awards, winning team of the year, Hansen winning coach of the year and Brodie Retallick player of the year.
Results
• Won 20-15 v England, Auckland • Won 28-27 v England, Dunedin • Won 36-13 v England, Hamilton • Drew 12-12 v Australia, Sydney • Won 51-20 v Australia, Auckland • Won 28-9 v Argentina, Napier • Won 14-10 v South Africa, Wgtn • Won 34-13 v Argentina, BA • Lost 25-27 v South Africa, J'burg • Won 29-28 v Australia, Brisbane • Won 74-6 v USA, Chicago • Won 24-21 v England, London • Won 24-16 v Scotland, Edinburgh • Won 34-16 v Wales, Cardiff.
