Coach Steve Hansen insists there was no complacency in the All Blacks’ camp, with fresh World Cup challenges looming and memories of the New Zealanders’ worst-ever defeat still haunting them.
The defending champions entered the last tournament in 2011 determined to end a 24-year World Cup drought and cast off a reputation for choking on the big stage.
With that mission accomplished, Hansen said the 2015 All Blacks had new goals: becoming the first New Zealand team to win the Webb Ellis trophy on foreign soil, and the first to defend the crown.
“There’s an expectation to win it same as there was in the last one,” he said. “The difference is we’re going offshore, there’s a massive excitement about the challenge we’ve got. We’re trying to do something no other team has done before.
“This team needs big challenges. They’ve been the number one side in the world for a long time and you can’t just keep plodding along doing what you used to do.”
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Hansen said New Zealand’s shock 20-18 loss to France in the quarterfinals of the 2007 World Cup remained etched in the All Blacks’ collective psyche, ensuring they would not allow standards to slip.
Hansen was assistant to Graham Henry, when the All Blacks swaggered into Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and paid the price.
“Everyone remembers 2007, whether you were there watching or back home, whether you were a player or a media person – no one’s forgotten it,” he added. “It’s a great reminder to all of us that if you don’t step up you go home.”
