Why do New Zealand not have more Rugby union world cup wins?

Question

I mean between tournaments, the all blacks seem to perpetually dominate the rankings.

However, come the world cup, they seem to stumble. This is not all black bashing: I would just like to know what fans think could help them in tournaments.

Or is it really just as simple as it's all on the day, and nothing can change it?

Please submit your views.

Answer 1

ITS COZ WE THE BEST

Answer 2

The answer is simple, they were just not good enough. I am reading here about food poisoning, bad referee, etc. Come on NZ, take it like men. The All Blacks should be happy that they won in ´87 and good luck to them for 2011. GO SPRINGBOKS.

Answer 3

Get over it and move on, nearly everone else has,  except you, stop re-hashing the same old stupid question.

Answer 4

cough cough, sorry **** bear I had one of you're mums pubes stuck in my throat.

ABs mighty,  Too much pressure on them at world cup, every one else plays out of their skins when playing them.  Not to mention a little help from a certain ref. (not sour grapes, but strongly feel if was a different ref ABs would be holding that cup). No disrespect to SA if anyone was going to beat us, was allways going to be them.

Answer 5

A mixture of things - poor performances and some bad luck. If you look at the different games in the world curps:

1991 - Outplayed by Australia (but a close game)

1995 - Food poisoning crippled the team but only just lost.

1999 - France 'Clicked' and were unbeatable for the last half of the game

2004 - Soft midlfield due to unjury and an inability to change the game plan

2008 - A few tough decisions and again, an inability to change the game plan

Remember, you only need to lose one game and you're out. Every world cup there's generally only 1 team that can go through unbeaten!

Answer 6

In my view it's the pressure. Plus the fact that New Zealand always peak in between world cups, I'd say it's difficult to maintain being the best team for four years in a row. The pressure on them in the next world cup will be enormous though.

Answer 7

The weight of expectation of a whole nation on them.  The pressure builds each World Cup.

It's amazing that either some of the players or coaching staff haven't been lynched on returning to NZ.

Answer 8

Firstly, they have no pride or respect for our/my country, they cant even sing our National Anthem in English let alone the Maori version, and when all is said and done if they cant sing and be proud  (like the Aussies, the S Africans and the Poms are) of their respective countries, they will never ever win a World Cup. Pathetic lot the AB`s are, they really are..

Answer 9

NZ All Black are the best without a doubt...

Problem is, they're too good... My view is they peak too early and when the WC comes they're coming out of their peak whereas other teams such as SA and England are just hitting their straps! U can have the best team in the world but form doesn't last forever, there a peaks and troughs and the AB seem to always be down in the trough when comes the SEmi-F for the WC.

You could win every tournament on the face of the earth but if you lose the semi-finals in a WC all those wins were just a waste of time lol...

Answer 10

well i have a conspiricy theory..

in 1999 they had possibly the best fullback of all time, Christian Cullen, and decided that it would be a good idea to play him out of position at centre in the semis against france.

in 2003 Tana Umaga, the allblacks centre got injured, instead of replacing him with an actual centre they decided to try and turn their first choice fullback (Leon MacDonald) into one. and make Mills Muliaina the fullback.

it didnt work.

in 2007 the allblacks correctly decided to put Leon MacDonald into fullback where he should be, but then went and put their other fullback (Muliaina) into centre.

and lost.

moral of the story =

If you need someone to play centre, use a god-damed centre, not a fullback.

Answer 11

pooh bear, the All blacks have got more respect than other teams. At least they sing their national athem. other teams dont! Australia, South Africa and England dont! At least in the games I watched they didnt, so they are no better than us as far as respect goes especially when it comes to singing and the haka too!

Answer 12

New Zealand basically have the same problem as England's national football team.

They have the weight of the nation's expectations on them as it's the country's primary sport.

When it comes to world cups, they just cannot cope with the pressure.

Answer 13

Here is my opinion, it takes into account our high rankings between cups and explains us winning the first world cup, before seeding, and losing world cups after seedings.

We win too much because in new zealand, as soon as a coach loses, he's out (see Mitchell, Hart, etc.).  

When we win every test in the lead up to a world cup, we move up the rankings to #1, then we make it to the world cup and are in a pool with lesser teams that give us zero challenge.

(1991 - ENG, USA, ITA, 1995 - IRE, WAL, j*p, 1999 - ENG, TON, ITA, 2003 - WAL, ITA, TON, CAN, 2007 - ROM, SCO, ITA, POR)  

Bear in mind, when we played england before the 1999 cup, we'd beaten them 64 - 22 and 40 - 10.  

We beat the teams in our pool, then we make it to the quarters and every other pool has at least 2 tough teams.  We come out untested in the pool stages and straight into a hard run for the rest of the way (2007 come out #1, play FRA, '03 - SAF then AUS etc.)

My point is, we're untested against DECENT teams, then as soon as we hit a toughie, we fall.  The only exception is the 1995 cup, but ask anyone involved in that tournament about Suzie in the hotel restaurant.  Thats an argument for a different thread.

Answer 14

Its really annoying to read that NZers are seen by some other nations as bad sports because we blame a ref and poor health for 2 losses in our otherwise impeccable record. Im ashamed that we are called these names, its also very insulting. I hate to think that it is "just a game" but when a team is so favoured to win, should win and somehow miraculously doesnt, you end up thinking why?

We have lost on more than 2 occasions, and have no such "excuses". We were just beaten by better opposition, 1991, and 2003 for example. 1995 and 2007 were entirely different, not only because we were probably more favoured to win but because other factors came into play.

It would be difficult for any All Blacks fan to witness their favourite player throwing up during a game, but for me it was horrific and nothing was said as to why this happened for weeks after that final. The All Blacks in 95 shot themselves in the foot, they were so confident of winning that they thought they could still do it with more than half the team in a bad state of health. They were food poisoned and to hear otherwise is beginning to sound as insulting as being called bad sports by ill informed writers.

Wayne Barnes in the 2007 quarter final game was hopeless, even the French thought so.  Anyone who watched that game must know that some decisions that idiot made were incredibly one sided, in fact Id venture a guess that 90 percent of his decisions in the 2nd half were one sided. The stats prove that.

South Africa had to win the game in 95, there were political factors involved, their countries unity was at stake. Its unexplainable as to why France had to win the game in 2007, but lets just say that if Barnes is as good as he is supposed to be then something must have been up.

I would love to say we were beaten by better teams as we were in 91 and 03, but we weren't. France were c**p, they lost to England, who consequently lost to South Africa and lets not forget we thrashed them in a home series barely 4 months out from last years World Cup.

In 96 the All Blacks team demolished the South Africans in South Africa, not even a year following the 95 World Cup.

If Im a bad sport then so be it, but don't stereotype a whole Nation without reviewing what actually happened.

As for the question at hand, I think it comes down to the pressure of the thing (World Cup that is). And its only going to get worse. If the hype surrounding the World Cup was lessened then we might have a good show of winning it. Until we can let go of the importance of it we may never win it again, especially if the powers at be have their way.