First, the World Cup is played outside of New Zealand and we've never won the global tournament away from home. To do so we're going to need all the accrued knowledge these seasoned pros will bring. They will have a calming influence that could prove priceless, just as it was when England won in Australia in 2003.
Second, the games will be tighter and slower than these tests have been. With so much at stake at the World Cup, teams tend to be more insular and conservative. At the business end of the tournament, results usually hinge on one or two pivotal moments. That's when you need the aforementioned wise heads who have seen all these scenarios before.
Third, they have so much more to lose than the younger guy. This is harder to quantify in terms of value, but I know from experience that knowing the 2003 World Cup would be my last really made me lift my game.
For McCaw et al, the World Cup could represent their last tests in an All Black jersey. That's some pretty powerful motivation right there. They would have heard the criticism that the All Blacks have never won the World Cup outside these shores and will want to be a part of a history-making side.
Finally, these guys are still the cream of the crop. McCaw and Carter in particular are legends of the game. They do not become bad players just because they're not quite at the peak of their games. They're still very good players and sometimes we can be too critical, too quickly when they are in fact sometimes just guilty of coming back to the chasing pack!
On Saturday, McCaw might not have had his greatest test, but in one spell when New Zealand were entrenched in defence, I saw him make about four tackles and smash into three rucks, in the space of a few minutes. His work rate is still incredible.
On the test, tribute has to be made to the way England have gone about their work in this series. It takes two teams to get a good test and that's what we saw in Dunedin.
It marks a real attitude for England, who used to get knocked for being boring and negative. I never really bought that argument, but they certainly played to their strengths, which was a big, abrasive forward pack and the boot of Jonny Wilkinson. Rugby moved on from those tactics and until recently it didn't seem that England were willing to move with the times, but under Stuart Lancaster, they've encouraged England to be more expressive.
They were criticised in Auckland for slowing the game down, but I did not concur with it. Sure, they were meticulous when it came to getting their calls right, but if anything they put together a better attacking game than the All Blacks.
Watching England score that final try last night was like watching the All Blacks. There was spontaneity, miracle passes and players all moving at speed to back up. It was impressive.
But the All Blacks were still better. They weren't perfect, but they showed in that third quarter just how ruthless a machine they can be (although I think they actually left a few more points on the table in that period).
