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Will McCaw lift the Webb Ellis Trophy?
Home stadium: Eden Park, Auckland (48,000)
Nickname: All Blacks
Number of rugby players: 141,726
Website: www.allblacks.com
National champions: 2006 - Waikato
Strengths: New Zealand bleed rugby and have been the best in the business for many years. This is due to their ability to read the game so well from prop to full-back all the way down the replacements bench. Their player depth in every position is mind-boggling. So much in fact, that they can easily field two completely different line-ups and still manage a convincing win. There certainly is no 'I' in the All Blacks team - they work tremendously well as a unit. They don't rely on one aspect of their play to win them games - the forwards and the backs combine in attack as well as defence to stamp out their opposition. Let's not forget the bone-quivering 'Haka' performed before kick-off. That's enough ammo to have any team running for cover.
Weaknesses: To even have the word placed in the same sentence as the All Blacks must be an insult in its own right to the New Zealand fans.
In fact, after naming one, I may have to be placed into the witness protection programme after the completion of this particular profile. The men in black set themselves incredibly high standards as far as limiting the amount of mistakes is concerned. They may need to go a little higher though - quite literally - in their line-outs. It's an area that most teams tend to target New Zealand at and one that needs the most improvement. Once they perfect the mechanics of winning line-outs - off their own throw and opposition - they will have a better chance against the likes of South Africa, who boast two of the best line-out jumpers in the world. Dare I mention the 'chokers' tag? I thought not...
History: 1987 - winners; 1991 - semi-final; 1995 - runners-up; 1999 - semi-final; 2003 - semi-final.
Prediction: Champions. Losing to Australia in the Tri-Nations should be the wake-up call they needed, erasing any form of the complacency that is often their biggest enemy. Having dominated the game for the last three years, surely they won't let it slip this time.
Coach: Graham Henry, the man who has been credited with laying the foundations of the Welsh revival before returning home to oversee New Zealand's drive for World Cup success, has taken this All Blacks team to new levels of rugby supremacy. A former schools headmaster, Henry has been coaching New Zealand for four years now and his outstanding success with the team was rewarded in 2006 when he was named the IRB Coach of the Year.
Key Player: All hail Dan Carter! This legend in the making has all the right qualities of a fly-half and more. Voted the IRB Player of the Year in 2005, Carter is without a doubt the best in his position at the moment.
Captain: The All Blacks are blessed with Richie McCaw's phenomenal playing talent and inspiring leadership skills. The flanker has also been voted the IRB Player of the Year (2006), and puts his body on the line for his team and country every time he takes the field. He's lifted many trophies in his role as All Blacks skipper. Will his next piece of silverware to hoist up be the Webb Ellis trophy?
Rising star: Scrum-half Brendon Leonard made his mark in New Zealand rugby with a string of fine performances for his Super 14 side the Chiefs. His sniping runs, flawless passing, deceiving pace and superb X-ray vision for gaps caught the eye of All Black selectors. He was rewarded with a place in the New Zealand team to face France in the June warm-up Tests and again in the Tri-Nations series where he scored a try against South Africa.
Team Nemesis: Not many teams have managed to knock New Zealand off their high rugby pedestal in recent years. South Africa proved the All Blacks were not invincible by becoming the only team to beat them in two years in 2005 and again in 2006. Traditionally, matches against their Trans-Tasman rivals Australia have always promised fireworks with both teams fighting it out for the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup. Australia are also the only team to have beaten New Zealand prior to the Rugby World Cup in 2007.
Likely headlines: 'New Zealand paint France black'
Price of a pint: E3.50
Rugby player/sheep ratio: 1:20
