ALL BLACKS ON MISSION TO BREACH FINAL FRONTIER

WELLINGTON: The All Blacks have already been hailed as the greatest side in the history of the game but tomorrow they have a chance to go where no other top tier rugby team has been before when they target an 18th successive Test victory.

Other countries have won two World Cups, other teams have been No 1 in the world rankings, but neither the 1965/69 and 2013/14 All Blacks, nor the 1997/98 Springboks were able to sustain a winning streak beyond 17 Tests.

Tomorrow’s opponents are trans-Tasman Sea neighbours Australia, who are on a 19-match losing streak against the All Blacks in New Zealand, and the venue Eden Park, where the Wallabies have not beaten their hosts in 30 years.

No team has beaten the All Blacks in Auckland since the French in 1994 and the world champions have already hammered Australia 42-8 and 29-9 this season.

It was their record nine-try, 57-15 demolition of South Africa in Durban two weeks ago, however, that had the great and good of the game lining up to proclaim that Steve Hansen’s side had taken the game to another level.

With confidence surging through their ranks, Hansen has chosen to eschew the modern fashion for ignoring statistical achievements and instead used the winning streak as motivation.

“This group has shown it likes challenges, especially big ones like this one. No one has ever done it,” Hansen said in Auckland yesterday. “We’ve got two choices, we can try to ignore and then enjoy it if it happens, or we can say: ‘This is an opportunity’. And we’ve chosen to say: ‘Yep, it is an opportunity’.” – Reuters