RESPECT

A huge part of the All Blacks culture is respecting the legacy, the brand and the role individuals play in preserving and enhancing it. The prevailing view is that no one owns the jersey or has any right to feel entitled to it.

It’s handed out on loan and the object is to hand it back with the legacy in better shape. “The jersey hasn’t changed much,” Steve Hansen said in 2013. “It’s always been black, it’s always had a silver fern on it. The thing that changes inside it is the men. It’s what these men do when they wear it that’s important.

“You can wear it poorly or you can choose to enhance that legacy. It’s a responsibility we all have. You don’t own the position. You are only passing through it. And you want to leave it better than you found it.”