With the retirement of iconic players like Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Keven Mealamu, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, the All Blacks team was put to test in Bledisloe Cup. After the unfortunate loss in Olympics the question was whether the retirement of top players affected the team or they had proper bench to take field? It was time to re-group and assemble under the captaincy of Kieran Read to prove why they are the number 1 team in the world.
The win at Bledisloe Cup omitted all the doubts that the team is without any guidance in absence of Richie McCaw. More than winning the cup it was a win over speculations against the greatest team in Rugby world ever. In the two tests played against Australia the team was united, skilled, pumped and filled with new energy to carry the legacy for lifetime. The 29-9 and 42-8 win over Wallabies was not only with very good margin but All Black didn’t let Wallabies score a try in any of the two matches.
Started in 1932, the Bledisloe Cup has carried legacy and rivalry of All Blacks and Wallabies over the years. In the overall matches played between the two team New Zealand hold the records with 44 win and Australia just managed to pull 12 of them. While Australia held the cup from 1998-2002 for their longest tenure of 5 years as the winners, the All Black team had the longest run with title for 28 years from 1951-1972. With the 2016 win they are holding the title for past 14 years.
New Zealand is the only team in Rugby history to have won the world cup thrice; 1987, 2011 and 2015. The nation hold the several world cup records with most points in one match (145 Vs Japan), most tries overall (306), most points scored in the first half of knockout game in world cup, Jonah Lamu who scored most world cup tries (15), Grant Fox with maximum one tournament points, Marc Ellis with most tries in a match and many more.
With almost 90% win rate Richie McCaw is the most successful captain for All Blacks. With three world players of the year award and two world cup win Richie led the team from front to take the team to a great legacy. With 1579 points in 111 matches perhaps Dan Carter is the best fly half that All Black ever had. All Blacks team is carrying a legacy and is the brand ambassador for Rugby in the world.