KEY POINTS:
The sun came up this morning and the sky did not fall, but over the coming weeks the nation will be wringing it's hands, searching for answers.
The discussion around the water coolers will centre around the referee's yellow card and the forward pass.
There will be heated debate over the conditioning programme and the selection of a backline that never gelled.
And there will be the obvious questions around why there was no drop-goal in the final ten minutes.
The sentiment in this morning's Herald editorial says it all. Keep perspective, the All Blacks are still the best team in the world and no sudden death, knock-out tournament can take that away from Graham Henry and the team.
In 2003 when John Mitchell led the All Blacks to Australia only to finish the tournament early after a loss to Australia in the semi-final, the feeling was similar.
The editorial on November 17 that year announced the All Blacks were still world champions.
"Let's not lose sight of the strength we have as we come to terms with another World Cup failure," it said.
The editorial recognised that leadership both on and off the field needed to be looked at and "coach John Mitchell must bear the brunt of the blame".
He did. Shortly after he was sacked.
Perhaps the most enduring message in the piece has not been taken on board and that is, just what does the World Cup mean?
It is still a collection of pool games promising little surprises, followed by the heavyweights knocking each other out in sudden death matches.
"It is unfortunate for rugby in this country that its followers have come to live for a quadrennial test of sudden death matches," said the editorial.
Following the semi-final loss to France in 1999, the All Blacks were again ranked number one.
The editorial mentions the trauma that gripped the country.
"The response was real - devastation on Monday morning, bitterness by Tuesday, anger ever since."
The similarities between yesterday's match and the 1999 semi-final do not end with the opposition.
There were claims in 1999 that the All Blacks' loss could be attributed, at least in part, to the "money and high life".
"Have the All Blacks become too pampered and precious for a hard game?"
Fast forward to 2007 and Herald readers have flooded the site with feedback via email, some of which is again pointing the finger at relentless marketing campaigns and the pampering of the national side.
But the 1999 editorial ends on a high. The All Blacks are still the best and everyone knows it.
And even though New Zealand haven't won the World Cup since 1987 - a fact that is endlessly repeated to New Zealanders but needn't be - the All Blacks are still the best.
