ALL BLACKS IN WORLD OF THEIR OWN

As Australia mounted a fightback, Kiwis stepped up a gear to leave them for dead

WHAT a brilliant final and a sensational way to end a great World Cup. It was a privilege to be at Twickenham and watch a very special team go to work. I had wondered if Australia could cause an upset and with 15 minutes to go it looked a real possibility but the truth is this New Zealand team is the best of the modern era and, come the moment, they showed exactly why

For ten minutes, after the score narrowed to 21-17, New Zealand shifted up one final gear to close the game out. Dan Carter nervelessly kicked a dropped goal — exactly when a dropped goal needed to be kicked — and then added a long penalty before Beauden Barrett, possibly his long-term successor, applied the coup de grace with that late try.

To win one World Cup is amazing but to win back-to-back tournaments is off the scale and I can n only congratulate everybody y in the New Zealand party ty from coach Steve e Hansen downwards.

After their 2011 triumph they effectively started with a blank sheet and set their stall out to do it all again. In the last four r years they have lost just ust three games and they have built a squad in which all 31 players could start a World Cup without batting an eyelid.

They are relentless and so passionate and it was interesting that Richie McCaw declined to announce his retirement from Test rugby afterwards, despite pre-match assump- tions that this was his swansong. He loves wearing the jersey so much and he is so committed to victory. That’s where his leadership starts, before he even runs on the journey.

As a group they are so together. Wasn’t it good to see their impromptu haka in front of the main West Stand just before they trooped off after the winners ceremony and lap of honour? I love the haka when it is done with that emotion in the joy of victory. Those still in the stands will remember that for a long time. It would be tempting to concentrate o on the stellar names who ado adorned New Zealand’s victory — McCaw, Dan v Carter, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu — but everybody stood out for New Zealand yesterday from No 1 to 23. Brodie Retallick was a absolutely outstanding, as always, and what a big mom moment it was when Kieran Read stayed on. He was clearly struggling with a bad ankle but when it comes to the World Cup final you grit your teeth and ignore the pain.

New Zealand took control of the game in the first half simply by denying Australia the ball. The Aussies are a dangerous team but to beat the All Blacks you will always need to amass a lot of points and to do that you need possession. New Zealand dominated the set piece — the line-out in particular — and in the first half at least McCaw and his back row edged it at the breakdown area against Australia’s much vaunted jackals

At 16-3 going into the second half, Australia had to score first but New Zealand, with all their rugby intelligence, knew that better than anybody and went for the jugular with Ma’a Nonu’s superb try courtesy of Sonny Bill Williams off-load.

It really did look game over then iC but Australia have been marvellously resilient all tournament and struck with great effect when Ben Smith was yellow-carded for an illegal tackle. The Aussies scored two tries in quick succession and just for a fleeting moment they were on the front foot.

That however was when New Zealand’s consummate rugby ability came to the fore and in the final passages of play they won it like the champions they are.

As a fan I salute both teams and frankly we have got so much to learn from them. Ignoring just for a minute their superior handling skills, which England and others in the northern hemisphere must look to match, the over-riding lesson from this tournament is that we must learn to play with pace.

We need much more pace in our game and that comes from improving our fitness and conditioning and we must improve our speed of thought. We have the players out there who can do this but we must start picking and believing in them.

Finally we should all thank the World Cup organisers — Rugby World Cup and England 2015. This had been an utterly compelling tournament from start to finish. Of course it’s had its disappointments for sides and supporters as teams fell by the wayside but RWC 2015 on and off the field had taken the game to a new level and all concerned should be very proud.