KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks' World Cup credentials will be measured only when they prove they can handle the tough times, says former captain David Kirk.
In a column in Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Kirk said New Zealand had barely broken a sweat in pool play and "exactly nothing" was
learned about their prospects that was not already known pre-tournament.
They were faster, fitter, had more depth and were technically better than any other team in France, Kirk believed, and about seven of the All Blacks side would make any world 15 named today.
"But we knew all this a month ago," he wrote. "The fact that we have not seen anything to deepen or extend our understanding of what actually lies at the spiritual core of this All Black team is a problem."
The only New Zealand captain to hoist the Webb Ellis Cup - in 1987 - Kirk said he felt uneasy that this team had yet to face a moment of reckoning, something all winners had to go through to prove their mettle.
"The time will surely come when the 2007 All Blacks will stand on the edge of the precipice that their 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003 predecessors have fallen into," he said.
"There will be a time when the stomach churns, the limbs feel like water and doubt crouches in the hallway. It will be then that we will know just how great this All Black team is.
"I always look for the signs of mental toughness and resilience in the little things.
"Such as, if a forward makes a mistake, say, drops a kickoff, does he explode out of the resulting scrum looking for a ruck or an opponent to smash into, to do whatever he can to make amends?"
He said such an attitude, rather than just carrying on as usual, was what set champion players and teams apart.
The All Blacks have yet to need to react to pressure, courtesy of an effortless romp through four pool games.
It left Kirk limited to admiring the prowess of the world's No 1 ranked side.
They included a scrum that he said packs not only power but the control to manipulate angles and to not allow weaker teams to milk penalties from the referee.
The lineout was "very good", with locks Keith Robinson, Chris Jack and Ali Williams three of the top six lineout forwards at the tournament, Kirk said.
The rest of the world struggles to match the New Zealand loose forwards and backs Daniel Carter, Joe Rokocoko, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Doug Howlett and Mils Muliaina.
Kirk said Aaron Mauger and Mils Muliaina should form the midfield, the one area that has had instability, while he would be intrigued to see in what capacity Nick Evans was used in the knockout phase, such is his gamebreaking ability.
Of the other teams, Kirk said Australia and South Africa had been the pick, while Argentina had been a "revelation" and France "weak when it mattered" in their opening loss to the Pumas.
He saved his harshest words for the defending champions.
"England seem to have spent the past four years figuring out just how they can cock up selections, coaching and team tactics, so as to ensure that in 2007 they play their worst rugby," Kirk said.
"It would be a joke if it wasn't so disappointing. That the world champions were, at least until Friday night, at risk of going out in the pool stages, is pathetic. English rugby should be ashamed of itself."
- NZPA
