An interesting quote

"You will never get a bad All Black team. At their worst they will still be the best in the world."

The person making this statement? The coach of the current RWC holders, Peter de Villiers.

I find it fascinating because, living as I do in England we had, despite the clearly different facts on the pitch, fours years of "world champions" and there is still an arrogance that demands England be the #1 side in the world.

The facts suggest that they're not, although they do well in the RWC format. New Zealand, for whatever reason, don't do so well in RWCs but it's pretty likely that for most of the time between RWCs they will be, possibly by some margin, the #1 team in the rankings.

Whilst de Villiers might be talking up the opposition before the match, what he's saying is pretty much the truth as well - and it's so nice to see a side that can claim, legitimately, to be "world champions" not doing anything to rest on their laurels.