Super Rugby would love to emulate that success and already this season it is clear that there is a near automatic culture of vigilance among players, coaches, officials and medics.
The numbers, though, are still not perfect. In the first four rounds of Super Rugby, the data shows that 11 players were taken off for a Head Injury Assessment test. Of those 11, 10 did not pass the test and were not returned to the field. One, however, was allowed to go back after passing the test, but subsequently felt unwell after the game and was diagnosed with concussion.
There was also a case involving Highlanders centre Malakai Fekitoa who took a head knock, wasn't tested, played on and then tested positive for concussion after the game.
It's the case of Fekitoa that best highlights the ongoing battle the game faces with concussion.
"I don't think, after reviewing that incident, that it was our [medical fraternity] best work," says New Zealand Rugby medical director Ian Murphy. "We have moved so far from where we were three years ago but we are not sitting back on the deck chairs by any means. We need to continue with our approach of educating and reviewing."
Still, despite the statistics not being perfect, the picture is more encouraging than even last year.
Players have come to accept that even if they pass the concussion test, they may not come back on. Coaches have come to accept that the data typically shows that any player who suffers a major head knock - and who passes a concussion test or not - fails to play at the top of their game.
That's why in the opening game of the season Joe Wheeler and Daniel Lionert-Brown were both taken off. That's why there was grave concern for Crusaders loose forward Reed Prinsep when he was knocked out cold against the Chiefs.
That's different to this time last year when a host of mistakes were made in a game between the Highlanders and Chiefs which saw Josh Hohneck knocked out cold and yet come back out to play.
There was also a similar incident involving Jerome Kaino but the response has been to learn from the mistakes rather than reject their validity.
The World Cup was not only major proof of the game's collective desire to improve concussion management, it was also vindication that the decision to introduce mandatory testing in 2012 for anyone suspected of having concussion was the right one. It was also proof that the tests have been successfully refined over the last three years.
A study published in the British Medical Journal showed that prior to the introduction of the Head Injury Assessment protocol, 56 per cent of players with a confirmed concussion stayed on the field.
After the introduction, that number dropped to 12 per cent.
