'They're just 15 blokes': All Blacks worship must stop, says former England lock Geoff Parling

The All Blacks are 'just 15 blokes' and the world must stop scraping and bowing at their feet, says English great. Photo / Getty Images.

Former England second-row Geoff Parling believes that Ireland have shown that the All Blacks are beatable and that "they're just 15 blokes on the pitch".

Parling, who is set to take over a coaching role with the Melbourne Rebels for the coming Super Rugby season and was part of the last England side to beat the All Blacks, said the world must stop scraping and bowing at their feet despite New Zealand rugby's rich history.

Parling revealed his frustration not only with his own country but all international teams for how they perform against the world's number one ranked side.

"I've always been frustrated in the past, maybe not just the northern hemisphere teams but anyone playing New Zealand," Parling told Stuff.

"The way they get spoken about in the press after the games.

"You get beaten off them, well that's not good enough, because you've lost an international game regardless of how good they are.

"You have to respect them but Ireland have certainly shown they're just 15 blokes on the pitch.

"They're very good rugby playing blokes but it's still just 15 blokes."

Geoff Parling of the Rebels looks upfield during a Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby training session at Gosch's Paddock on July 9, 2018. Photo / Getty Images.

Parling understands why the All Blacks are regarded so loftily, but insists there comes a point where the admiration must stop.

"The first thing is that they are good, consistently good, so I suppose they have something to back up what people say about them," he told Stuff.

"And when people play against them, if they've played them five times and they'd lost five times it probably seeps in.

"It's there for a reason, they are good, but look at what Ireland did, look at when other teams pushed them."