This team set a whole new benchmark with their demeanour, on and especially off the field, none more so than Sonny Bill Williams.
The man who initially made his name in rugby league has been a polarising figure ever since he walked out on the Canterbury Bulldogs to pursue what appeared to be his own best interests.
Some believe he continues to do that, picking his opportunities to play rugby with an eye more to what the game can do for him than what he can do for the game. And he continues to box, further antagonising those who believe that he is a multi-sport opportunist.
At least Sunday morning's RWC final should have silenced those who saw him as gaining his place in the team more on reputation and hope that any sound analysis of his form. He might even be credited with winning the final; his 'basketball' pass that set Ma'a Nonu on his way to the goal line 40 metres away certainly gave the All Blacks what appeared to be an unassailable advantage.
It almost proved to be less than unassailable, and without those five points the outcome might have been different. But that pass, pivotal as it might have been, was arguably not his finest moment.
When the final whistle brought an end to the All Blacks' semi-final against South Africa he immediately made his way to distraught Springbok Jesse Kriel, having a quiet word with him, giving him a hug then helping him to his feet. Chivalry of that nature is a rarity in any sport these days, particularly on the professional stage and at a tournament of this magnitude.
During the week before the final he gave tickets for Twickenham to a couple of Syrian refugees, and then, minutes after the final ended, he reportedly gave his medal to a young boy who was "smoked" by a security officer when he ran on to the field after the game. The security man's tackle was perhaps the best by an Englishman all tournament, and will surely get him a contract.
So much for the Sonny Bill Williams many of us thought we knew.
The less judgmental of the man's critics have long argued that he is simply making the most of his phenomenal athletic talent, which he is entitled to do, while it lasts, while the more cynical see him as cherry picking. Whatever the case might be, he is clearly not in whichever game he might be playing for the spoils. Williams and every other member of the RWC squad worked very hard for those medals, and to gift that priceless symbol of supremacy to a child was remarkably generous.
Williams wasn't a one-man charm offensive though. The entire team, including its management, generated goodwill wherever they went in Britain, even in Newcastle, where rugby has the sort of stature that soccer does in the Hokianga.
They were probably at their best in Wales, where they invested considerable time in interacting with that country's next generation of players. Their actions bespoke a group of men who were fully aware of what was expected of them, but were able to see beyond the nationalist fervour that attaches to every game they play to recognise that it is the game itself that is most important.
Whether or not this All Black team is the best ever is a moot point. There have been some very good teams in the past, only one of them having had the opportunity to win consecutive World Cups. It would be difficult to argue though that this is not the finest team that has ever left this country in terms of recognising that All Black dominance carries with it a responsibility for the game's future. If rugby finds new momentum in the Northern Hemisphere, and in countries where it is still taking root, much of the credit for that will be attributable to the All Blacks of 2015.
As for the final, we learned a couple of things. Nigel Owens, as many people have said of late, is perhaps the best referee in the world. He did allow himself to be talked into yellow-carding Ben Smith by a TMO who clearly believed that a penalty was not sufficient punishment for the fullback's lifting of Drew Mitchell, although given the prevailing attitude to that particular offence throughout the tournament Smith should not have been surprised. But he allowed the game to flow, playing a key role in what was probably the most skilful display of rugby in any Cup final.
We also learned that Wayne Barnes still has trouble spotting a forward pass, as Milner-Skudder practised (once).
But them's the breaks, and this time it was the All Blacks who benefited. Perhaps we can finally put 2007 behind us, accepting that it's now 1-all.
And if his fans (and detractors) were pleased to see Dan Carter back in form, so too would have been whoever's stumped up the $3.3 million per season to lure him to French club Racing Metro.
The price might have seemed a bit steep a month or two ago, but the club now knows that it really is getting the world's best first-five before his powers begin to wane.
And so, with the RWC over for another four years, we can be magnanimous in our forgiveness of England's Telegraph newspaper for its pre-final assessment that Australia has it all over this country by just about every measure. Apparently Australia has us covered in terms of attractions, culture (they must be joking), movies, cuisine, transport and nightlife.
We can live with that, even if a poll last week reckoned 63 per cent of us didn't give a toss about the RWC, and even die-hard Wallaby fans will probably now be saying the same.
Winning consecutive tournaments will take a power of beating, but we can also point out to our neighbours that the All Blacks of 2015 left the game in a better state than it was in before their campaign began, just as our ultimately unsuccessful Cricket World Cup team did last summer.
It's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game goes a bit far, but Kiwi cricket and rugby have won respect across the globe in 2015. Long may it last.
