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PARIS - New Zealand came into the rugby World Cup as overwhelming favourites having been the dominant global force in the four-year build-up to the tournament.
With a squad of 30 players most coaches could only dream of, the All Blacks impressed in their four facile Pool stage wins, electrifying back play finishing off moves set up by a hardened yet mobile pack of ball-handling forwards.
Yet they buckled at the first real test, against tournament hosts France in the quarter-final in Cardiff, once again raising the question of why they "choke" at World Cups.
Despite going 13-0 ahead against France, New Zealand couldn't withstand a revival that saw a late Yannick Jauzion try clinch a 20-18 win for 'Les Bleus' and send the All Blacks packing with their worst-ever tournament performance.
The All Black hierarchy faces some tough questions with the New Zealand Rugby Union planning an inquiry into the failed campaign which featured a strong commercially-driven focus that attempted to further the myth of the All Blacks but seemed to contradict public statements about remaining humble.
The union is due to name a new coaching team by the end of the year, with Graham Henry and his assistants Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith almost sure to be replaced although there remains public support for them.
"We'll be scarred for the rest of our lives, and I mean that," admitted Henry after his's side loss to France.
The All Blacks won the inaugural World Cup which it hosted in 1987, but were losing finalists in 1995, and losing semi-finalists in 1991, 1999 and 2003.
This time around, they were based in the southern French cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, and handed a very favourable calendar for pool games against Italy (76-14), Portugal (108-13), Scotland (40-0) and Romania (85-5).
The first 20 minutes against the Azzurri, last season's Six Nations over-achievers and serious quarter-final contenders, were nothing but breath-taking, even succeeding in sending a buzz through the normally taciturn black-clad Kiwi supporters.
The All Blacks notched up five converted tries in that opening quarter against the hapless Italians to strike fear into the spying eyes of more illustrious rivals that they could go on and light up the tournament with something incredible.
The try count rattled on in the three other pool matches to leave New Zealand entering the quarter-finals having racked up 309 points and a staggering 45 touchdowns.
Henry and his assistants, like the players, all denied that they were "undercooked" heading into the match against France, which the tournament hosts had to play in Cardiff as a result of finishing second in their pool behind Argentina, to whom they lost 17-12 in the opening game of the tournament.
But there is no doubt that the power-driven, free-running, error-strewn off-loading gameplan the Blacks employed in the pool stages against inferior teams resembled more rugby sevens than what awaited them against France, finally a team that proved their physical and tactical match.
Former Wales and British Lions outside-half Jonathan Davies, now a respected rugby columnist and television commentator, said New Zealand's defeat was just come-uppance for displaying a level of "arrogance difficult to grasp".
"They never used to be like that. Supremely confident, yes, but never arrogant. It applied to the coaching staff as well," said Davies.
Allegations of arrogance aside, one of the main criticisms of Henry's tactics was of his squad rotation policy that saw him make wholesale changes to his team in every match, thus reducing game time for key players.
But suggestions that the All Blacks were not able to stand up to the pressure or adapt to "winning ugly" seem unfounded, having dominated the Tri-Nations and their players the Super 14 competition over the last two years.
They remain, on their day, the best team in the world and have coped sufficiently well to win 42 of their last 48 games.
It is to everyone's detriment that they unravelled at the hands of their World Cup nemesis France and that their sparkling backs and combative pack did not have the chance to shine brighter and longer at this tournament.
- AFP
