Can the All Blacks go back-to-back? We have five reasons why they can, and five reasons why they may not.
Ambition
These All Blacks are loaded with it. That's not to say several other teams won't have dollops of it, too, but do they have the class to go with it? The idea of being the first country to win back-to-back World Cups sits neatly with New Zealand's rugby ambitions. There's not much the All Blacks haven't done in rugby and they will have the drive to complete another rugby first.
Skill
Pick any part of the park and the All Blacks have high calibre operators. Whether it be the Ben Smith-led back three, the Conrad Smith/Ma'a Nonu midfield axis, the No 10 options, the world's best halfback and most formidable loose forward trio, the world's best player for 2014 Brodie Retallick and his bearded chum Sam Whitelock and a combative front row. Other countries have world-class players, but not as many and not in as many parts of the field.
The skipper
This assumes Richie McCaw remains fit for the World Cup. No captain epitomises indomitable spirit like the No 7. He has no peers in his position and no captain influences his team to the same degree. Put it this way: if injury befell Dan Carter, Ben Smith or Brodie Retallick, the All Blacks could work around it. Halfback Aaron Smith might be the only parallel with McCaw's playing importance. Take away the skipper and watch for the nervous glances if the All Blacks get in a tight spot in a knockout game.
Consistency
No team has matched the All Blacks for sheer game-on-game performance since the last World Cup. They have been relentless, machine-like but also, more often than not, highly watchable. There have been no dull grinds, unlike several of their major rivals.
