Rugby: British critic Stephen Jones admits that All Blacks are the greatest ever team

Kieran Read and his All Blacks could be the greatest sports team in history - according to British writer Stephen Jones. Photo / Photosport

All Blacks super critic and leading British rugby writer Stephen Jones has finally admitted that the current incarnation is the greatest to ever play the game.

Jones, writing for the Sunday Times, has praised the Kiwis following a second-string All Blacks outfit's 69-31 win over Japan in Tokyo over the weekend.

In a significant departure from his often spiteful columns - including calling New Zealand rugby's "least civilised nation" and slamming former first-five Dan Carter for "riding on his reputation as an icon" during his time in France - Jones compared the current crop of All Blacks to iconic Australian cricketer Sir Don Bradman.

"It cannot be denied any more - these All Blacks are all-time sporting greats," Jones writes.

"It was not just his Test batting average of 99.94 that made Don Bradman such an amazing cricketer, it was his lead over the next best. Nobody has ever come within 25 runs of his career average.

"So, too, the All Blacks. New Zealand have played 100 games since the start of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, winning 90 and losing just seven for a winning average of 90 per cent.

"Are the Kiwis the greatest? Yes. They have taken two world titles during that run and taken a technical lead by ripping out so many of the precepts of play."

Jones suggests the All Blacks compare well against other dominant teams from earlier eras - including the West Indies cricket team from the 1980s and the 1970s Brazilian football team, pioneers of the 'beautiful game'.

"Not even they saw off opponents with such alacrity and consistency as New Zealand under Graham Henry and Steve Hansen," he writes.

"You would never call rugby the beautiful game, especially in its current industrial-diamond state. But New Zealand can be as beautiful as any, taking the ball into fewer crunches.

"They have torn up the idea that only quick ball with the opposition on the back foot is attacking ball. Instead, they have run the ball thrillingly from deep, wide, short; they have run fast ball and slow ball, attacked after their own passes have been dropped."

Jones, however, insists Eddie Jones' England can claim an unlikely victory at Twickenham this weekend - provided they don't attempt to immitate the All Blacks' attacking game.

"For England to win on Saturday would reverse history and would be a stunning boost to Jones, the team and the sporting nation. It would in some ways turn prospects for the World Cup on their head. But, to return to the cricketing analogy, the magnificent All Blacks are defending their status with the broadest of bats and with flashing blades," Jones writes.