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<\/p>\nJeff Wilson, the former New Zealand wing, was hurting after the All Blacks crashed to the heaviest defeat in their history, a 43-10 shellacking by South Africa in Wellington. \u201cWhat stings is that teams now believe they can beat the All Blacks. Argentina have done it, Ireland have done it, South Africa have humiliated us at home,\u201d he said in September. \u201cThat aura has been chipped away.\u201d <\/p>\n
The famed All Blacks aura. It was once about mystique; this team of sublime and exotic rugby players from the other side of the world, armed with their own war cry, whom we so rarely saw play. The New Zealand Natives tour of 1888-89 introduced the haka to rugby supporters in Britain. The Originals tour in 1905 included the first Test between England and the All Blacks, played at Crystal Palace to an estimated crowd of 100,000 and won 15-0 by the visitors. <\/p>\n
The Times match report read: \u201cThe Englishmen were absolutely outclassed by the pace, skill and resource of the New Zealanders. The visitors were never barren of an idea, whether in running, passing or kicking. They have a great belief in the dictum that attack is the best means of defence.\u201d <\/p>\n
It was the same in 1925, when tens of thousands clogged the roads around Twickenham trying to squeeze into the ground to watch the touring Invincibles defeat England, despite having a man sent off. In 1964 one RFU official described New Zealand\u2019s 14-0 win over England as \u201cperhaps the most magnificent period of rugger ever seen at Twickenham\u201d. <\/p>\n
It all helped to build the legend of these \u201crugby gods who had arrived from the bottom of the world\u201d, as described by Matt Elliott in his book Thorny Encounters, a history of matches between England and the All Blacks. <\/p>\n
When New Zealand played at Twickenham in 1993, \u00a330 tickets were being sold for \u00a31,000. Sponsors of the All Blacks took out advertisements in British newspapers that reinforced the reputation of a team from afar to be admired and feared in equal measure. \u201cGood news, we\u2019ll be taking them home soon,\u201d read the strapline on an Air New Zealand advert. \u201cWho\u2019d want to be in England\u2019s boots?\u201d read another for Mizuno, accompanied by a mean-looking photograph of Inga Tuigamala. <\/p>\n
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Siya Kolisi\u2019s Springboks have taken over from the All Blacks as the standard bearers in rugby<\/p>\n
JAMES FOY\/SPEED MEDIA\/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
Two years later Jonah Lomu burst on to the scene and became the mega-star who helped to drive rugby union into the professional era and persuaded Rupert Murdoch to invest $550million in the sport with the launch of the Tri Nations (now Rugby Championship). <\/p>\n
The romance and mystery was inevitably eroded by exposure and commercialism. Adidas started using the \u201cKa Mate\u201d haka in television commercials, ultimately leading to a row over copyright. Anyone with a subscription can now watch New Zealand<\/a> play 14 Tests a year, including money-spinning ventures to Chicago, San Diego or Tokyo that are arranged to grow the brand. <\/p>\n The aura to which Wilson referred was defined by a sign pinned on the wall of the All Blacks team room before a Test against England<\/a> at Twickenham in 2013: \u201cWe are the most dominant team in the history of the world\u201d. <\/p>\n It was interpreted outside New Zealand as a sign of arrogance that jarred with the image of \u201csweeping the sheds\u201d humility the All Blacks had portrayed since the \u201ctoxic\u201d team culture of heavy drinking and bullying was overhauled in 2004. <\/p>\n The All Blacks insisted the slogan was an aspiration, a motivational tool to drive a team who barely lost. It was also a completely legitimate observation, and not especially out of line with All Black teams of the amateur era. <\/p>\n England won that 1993 Test 15-9 (Jamie Joseph used one of his sponsored boots to stamp on Kyran Bracken\u2019s ankle). Sean Fitzpatrick, the All Blacks captain, acknowledged at the post-match dinner that England had deserved their victory before saying: \u201cAs an All Black we tend to remember our losses.\u201d <\/p>\n Kieran Read and McCaw lift the Webb Ellis Cup after New Zealand\u2019s World Cup victory in 2015<\/p>\n PAUL GILHAM\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n \u201cHe was telling us that they didn\u2019t lose all that much,\u201d Nigel Redman, the England lock, said. \u201cIt was poignant, and in a way a bit arrogant, but he was saying it was very special for England to beat the All Blacks because it doesn\u2019t happen all that often.\u201d <\/p>\n Redman was right. England have won only eight times in 46 Tests against the All Blacks. Like Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson or Michael Jordan\u2019s Chicago Bulls, there was an inevitability about the All Blacks as they won back-to-back World Cups in 2011 and 2015 \u2014 an aura captured in the words on that sign pinned up in the Lancaster Suite of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. <\/p>\n Having been stung by France \u2014 and their own hubris \u2014 in the 2007 World Cup quarter-final, New Zealand embarked on an eight-year quest to become the greatest team ever. Their winning record was in excess of 90 per cent as they became the first team to retain the World Cup. <\/p>\n![\"Kieran](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/\/e351b21d-46d9-49e3-881d-c663124dd4ea.jpg\")
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