All Blacks: Don't dare call All Blacks lucky - Houdini act one of great stories

Colin Slade, Malakai Fekitoa and Patrick Tuipulotu celebrate the win. Photo / Getty Images

The All Black transformation from the mentally frail bunch they were in 2007 to rugby's equivalent of Houdini is one of the game's great stories.

From being unable to think and plot their way through pressure situations back then, they are now stunningly good at staying calm and finding the right plays regardless of how hopeless their predicament may appear.

In Cardiff seven years ago they bashed away fruitlessly for 14 minutes unable to find the three points they needed to progress to the semifinals of the World Cup. They had so little understanding of what they were trying to do and virtually no belief they could do it.

When the All Blacks were put under pressure seven years ago - they froze. Their decision-making was fuzzy and they operated on instinct. Their patterns went out the window, their structures collapsed and instinct meant players stopped thinking collectively and did the first thing that came into their heads.

Those All Blacks belong to a different era - because to beat the All Blacks these days, opposition teams have to hold their conviction for 80-minutes plus.

Provide one half opening and the All Blacks will take it and win. Pressure no longer pervades into their decision-making.

Outcome is not present in their minds - only process. They know that if the plan was good enough at the start of the game, then it will still be good enough at the end.

And don't dare call them lucky. There was nothing fortunate about their final 12 minutes that saw them claw back a 10-point deficit with a man in the bin. Good fortune didn't create that last half gap for Malakai Fekitoa - only good decisions, good skill execution and incredible self-belief. "It surprises me too to be fair," said goal-kicking hero Colin Slade about the depths of resolve within the All Blacks.

"It is a team with a hell of a lot of belief. It is not something we talk about - it is just expected. You don't have to fool yourself into believing it because there is so much belief out there. They have done it before and you can't really describe it. The confidence rubs off on each other.

Watch: All Blacks: Last minute win

"I suppose the difference is some teams can be a bit antsy towards the end of the game. But this team is so relaxed - the messages from the senior players is that we are still in this and have a crack. Let's worry about what we are going to do next.

"After Nic White kicked that goal, we just talked about what we were going to do at the kick-off to get back on the front foot and stay down there. It's just a process thing - the All Blacks stay calm and that is experience I suppose."

The Wallabies, on the other hand, as well as they played, possibly made the mistake of tightening up mentally in the last five.

"We talked about putting together a full game all week and then we lost after the bell," said Wallaby captain Michael Hooper. "We played at them for 75 minutes and maybe then [were] scared to lose at the end."

Those last five minutes are so crucial. Just as Ireland lost belief in themselves at about the same time in their epic encounter last year, so too did the Wallabies.

No side can afford to do that against the All Blacks because they will suffer the same fate.

"It is about belief and playing for 80 minutes," said Kieran Read. "Out there it felt like we had the capability. We knew we didn't play at our best but we knew we were good enough when we got the opportunity."