The All Blacks may have gone almost 16 months unbeaten but they suffered a rare defeat at the hands of a German soccer team at the Laureus Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur.
The All Blacks, who became the first national rugby team to go unbeaten in the professional era, lost out to European soccer champions Bayern Munich for the Sports Team of the Year category barely 24 hours after they were crowned German champions for a 24th time with a record seven games to spare. Other nominees were the Brazil men's soccer team, history-making doubles tennis pair Bob and Mike Bryan, NBA champions the Miami Heat and Red Bull Motor Racing.
Multiple-time world champion Kiwi swimmer Sophie Pascoe also missed out on the award after being nominated for Sportsperson with a Disability, which was won by French skier Marie Bochet - a four-time gold medallist in Sochi. Pascoe won four golds at the IPC World Championships last year.
Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel can add another trophy to his already-full mantel after being named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year. The 26-year-old claimed top honours at a scaled-back ceremony in Kuala Lumpur out of respect for those affected by the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.
Vettel, who clinched his fourth successive title with Red Bull in 2013, edged out three-time winner and Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt, multiple NBA MVP LeBron James, of the Miami Heat, Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, Real Madrid's goal-scoring machine Cristiano Ronaldo and athlete Mo Farah, of Britain.
