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In an era where winning the World Cup is everything, the fact the All Blacks go into Saturday’s match against England here at Twickenham on the verge of a grand slam may not seem like a big deal. But don’t tell that to New Zealand captain Richie McCaw.
Fans in the rugby-mad nation have had to endure one World Cup disappointment after another since the All Blacks won the inaugural edition on home soil back in 1987.
What has made the losses harder to bear for New Zealand supporters is that their side has frequently been the sport’s dominant force between World Cups.
That’s certainly been the case this year.
New Zealand, ranked No.1 in the world, won the Tri-Nations and this month have enjoyed a triumphal progress through the British Isles.
Scotland, Ireland and Wales have all been defeated without the All Blacks conceding a try and a win this weekend would give New Zealand their second grand slam in three years and third overall.
McCaw, arguably the world’s best openside flanker, believes such achievements have value and shouldn’t be disregarded simply because they don’t come attached to a World Cup win.
“You have to be able to gain lasting fulfillment without winning the World Cup,” said the captain of the All Black side defeated by France in the quarter-finals of last year’s tournament.
“It would be awful to have finished your career having achieved some of the things we have, even up to now, and not feel like you’ve done good.”
New Zealand, who welcome back centre Conrad Smith from a groin injury in the only change to the team that beat Wales 29-9 in Cardiff, are widely expected to make short work of a callow-looking England side.
While New Zealand were seeing off Wales, England were slumping to a record-breaking 42-6 home defeat to world champions South Africa.
Such is the seeming disparity between the two sides that England fans could be forgiven for thinking their side’s best bet is to follow Wales’s lead in staring down the haka but take it a step further by refusing to budge so the game can’t start.
McCaw, whose side features star five-eighth Dan Carter, unsuprisingly doesn’t see it that way.
“They’ll be hurting. We’re expecting them to throw everything into it and they will be desperate.”
England manager Martin Johnson has made three changes to his team, notably at halfback where Toby Flood replaces the out-of-touch Danny Cipriani.
In the pack lineout specialist Nick Kennedy returns in place of Tom Palmer and openside flanker Michael Lipman replaces Tom Rees.
England enjoyed plenty of possession against the Springboks but never looked like having either the power or the guile to score a try.
An England win would see them into fourth in the world rankings and mean they avoided being in the same pool as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand when the draw for the 2011 World Cup takes place here on Monday.
“The players are hurting,” said England scrum coach Graham Rowntree.
“But then we have to build them back up again. We have to instil that confidence in them.”
Saturday will see the teams competing for the Hillary Shield for the first time, named in honour of New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man, together with Sherpa Tenzing, to climb Mount Everest in 1953.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.