Wynne Gray's 50 greatest rugby moments: No.35

Brian Lochore with All Blacks captain Andy Dalton in 1987.

As the first World Cup approached, rugby needed a new image.

It had lost some of its sheen through the rebel Cavaliers tour as the year ended in a disconcerting loss to France at Nantes.

Brian Lochore was retained as convenor for the 1987 World Cup although his sidekicks, Colin Meads and Stan Hill, were replaced by Alex Wyllie and John Hart who were the best of the new breed of provincial coaches.

Wyllie had been in charge of Canterbury for five years as they equalled the record of 25 Ranfurly Shield defences while Hart was coach of the hard-charging and enterprising Auckland side.

The new national coaching troika appeased all sorts of political factions and there was a genuine belief they would bring a different verve to the All Blacks with the layers of talent throughout the country.

Fitness programmes were the domain of Jim Blair, the chain-smoking soccer-loving Scotsman, who was a huge fan of individual conditioning to support players' different roles and had begun that work with Wyllie and Canterbury.

When that deal ended, Hart signed up Blair to work with Auckland where forwards were encouraged to handle like backs as the team produced their all-inclusive style.

Eight players who'd been in France were discarded, possible skipper Jock Hobbs succumbed to concussion and his replacement leader, Andy Dalton fell to a hamstring injury - events which promoted David Kirk to the captaincy and Sean Fitzpatrick to hooker.

Once the World Cup squad was picked, team bonding included visits to schools and small towns which reinforced links between the national psyche and rugby. They repeated that connection before their pool game with Argentina when they were billeted in the Wairarapa.

The coaches' plan for the World Cup was based on strong set-pieces at scrum and lineout, dynamic support play from loose-forwards, reliable goal-kicking and supreme fitness.

Lochore directed the campaign with his mix of good sense, composure and wide rugby knowledge as he encouraged the gifts of his assistants and the squad to flourish. They were determined to put an exciting new face on the rugby world.

The All Blacks had that potent mix and claimed the first Webb Ellis Cup in a superb conclusion to Lochore's test coaching career.