Memory of 2007 exit continues to haunt All Blacks

“The All Blacks haven’t won it out of New Zealand and that’s something that, at some stage, someone will do”.

The All Blacks touch down in England some time on Friday morning with the memory of a superb tribute fresh in their minds.

Meyer insisted his side were not favourites and said they preferred “to be under the radar, if that is possible for us”.

The All Blacks captain was the star attraction at the royal palace and fortress, appearing fresh after stepping off a 24-hour flight and into the first of many Rugby World Cup press appearances.

Hansen admitted that taking Naholo to the World Cup is a gamble but said he was prepared to take such a risk given the potential reward. “It is all we have, the spirit is real and strong in the team”. Land Rover is recruiting all 96 official mascots for Rugby World Cup 2015 as part of its “We Deal In Real” campaign.

But Ford said: “I had lunch with him in between the France and Ireland games and all I can say is that Sam is very happy staying in rugby union”.

New Zealand, with McCaw at the helm of a golden generation of players, are heavily fancied to retain the world championship, even if the burden of expectation can sit heavily at times.

This explains some of the erratic play we have seen in the warm-up games, for although your stamina and fitness are improved, you need to play a number of games to maximise the benefits of the extra fitness training. At the end of it, if you’ve done what you set out to do, that’s where you get the satisfaction from and have a grin on your face.

“That pressure’s there for us regardless, so it doesn’t change now that we’re playing away from home”.

Hansen refused to look past the Argentina clash and name any of New Zealand’s top threats to making history and retaining the title.

Hansen said it was likely about 17 players would be involved in both matches, with three or four starting in both.

“No team has managed to get it done back-to-back and so hopefully we can get to that level of desperation, that level of want, so that we can get another result”. I don’t think any team has gone throughout a tournament without one of those.

Meyer, in particular, has been singled out for what critics perceive as his reluctance to give black players a chance more than 20 years after apartheid ended. Their match against Samoa on October 10 could be decisive, but they know they cannot simply presume they will win their opening games against Japan and the USA, two testing fixtures that have only four days between them.