Coming out of the locker room for his US Open tennis semifinal last week, Novak Djokovic was asked about the stunning loss the crowd had just witnessed, of fellow champion Serena Williams.
"Well," said Djokovich, "it's sport. Anything can happen."
More to the point, it was a tournament of sudden death. Tennis crowds are well-accustomed to that format. They have not ceased to regard Williams as the best in the world because she lost that day on the cusp of a rare achievement, a true grand slam: all four majors in the same year.
Rugby followers are not as accustomed to sudden-death sport. They tend to regard the game's quadrennial World Cup as the only test that matters. At least we in New Zealand do. Elsewhere those who know the game do not cease to regard the All Blacks as the world's best if they suffer a surprise loss.
But of course, they will not. We expect the All Blacks to win every match. The only losses we can bear are those like the one to Australia this year that deprived us of the four nations' Rugby Championship this season. The All Blacks usually win that but in World Cup year we do not care about the championship. It is almost a good omen, a sacrifice to the gods for the glory in store.