All Blacks greats reflect on 2011 World Cup success a decade on
It has been 10 years to the day since the All Blacks snapped a 24-year World Cup drought with a tense 8-7 victory over France at Eden Park.
The 2011 World Cup final victory is a significant piece of New Zealand rugby folklore as the All Blacks finally got the long-standing monkey off their backs to officially establish themselves as the world’s best team.
Led by inspirational captain Richie McCaw, who played the knockout stages of the tournament with a broken foot, the All Blacks also had fourth-string first-five Stephen Donald to thank for his contributions.
As the story famously goes, Donald, who had been vilified by the Kiwi public a year beforehand for effectively costing the All Blacks their final Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies in Hong Kong, was called upon by head coach Sir Graham Henry as a last resort option following tournament-ending injuries to first-choice pivots Dan Carter and Colin Slade.
Against all odds, Donald came off the bench for the All Blacks midway through the first half after third-choice playmaker Aaron Cruden left the game with a knee injury, and slotted what proved to be the match-winning penalty goal early in the second half.
Donald’s miraculous comeback, McCaw’s immense leadership and the All Blacks’ quest to end their almost-quarter-of-a-century baron spell without the Webb Ellis Cup were three of many storylines that captivated New Zealand throughout the tournament.
The aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, Piri Weepu’s goal-kicking heroics, New Zealand’s bomb squad of Richard Kahui, Cory Jane and Israel Dagg, the hostility towards Kiwi-born Wallabies star Quade Cooper, Ma’a Nonu’s bright orange boots, Tony Woodcock’s ‘teabag’ try in the final and SBW-mania all played into the hype surrounding the All Blacks’ success.
Now, a decade after the World Cup frenzy that swept the nation reached its climax, two of those who played a key role in delivering the All Blacks their World Cup success have shared their experiences in the lead-up to the final.
In a post on Facebook, McCaw, who later became the first – and, to date, only – player to captain a team to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2015, shared his diary entry on the day of the final.
“10 years ago since the Rugby World Cup Final and I still remember it like it was yesterday,” McCaw wrote on his official Facebook page.
“Here were the words I wrote on game day. These are the same words I wrote every week but there’s no doubt there was a lot more at stake for this test match.”
Under the headline ‘vs France Eden Park (Final)’, McCaw noted down a series of bullet-points comprised of objectives and goals to complete against Les Bleus.
All Blacks props Karl Tu’inukuafe and Alex Hodgman have re-signed with the Blues ahead of the inaugural 2022 Super Rugby Pacific campaign. #AllBlacks #Blues #SuperRugbyPacific https://t.co/xASL3iM5No
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In his notes, McCaw wrote the he needed to get involved early, produce a high work rate, “keep getting up”, and “make it count”.
He then sub-titled a series of bullet-points with “DMJ”, an abbreviation for ‘Do My Job’.
The jobs he outlined included “hit with shoulders”, identify opposition threats early and “remove” them, pick and choose his time to steal the ball at the breakdown and “fully” commit to doing so, and “run, link, demand ball, run hard, expect to bust”.
McCaw finished off his diary entry by writing “Just play, back my gut”, “Be calm, clear & decisive – Huge Presence”, “Enjoy”, and “GAB – BE” – an abbreviation for ‘Great All Black – Best-Ever’.
In the wake of McCaw’s social media post, current All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock shared his recollection of events from 10 years ago.
Whitelock, who will lead the All Blacks against the USA Eagles in Washington DC on Sunday [NZT], is the last surviving member of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad still playing for the All Blacks.
At the time of the final, the veteran lock was a 23-year-old playing in his 25th test after having made his international debut the year beforehand, and started against France alongside Brad Thorn in the second row.
A decade later, Whitelock now has 127 tests and two World Cup titles to his name, a far cry from his status leading into the 2011 final when he hadn’t even been born when the All Blacks won their first – and, at the time, only – title in 1987.
“That probably shows why I’ve got a few greys in my beard and things like that,” Whitelock told reporters from the American capital on the topic of being the only player in the current All Blacks side who was part of the 2011 World Cup team.
“It’s definitely something you look back on and go, ‘How awesome was that?’
“I remember at the time, I think I was 23, we hadn’t won the World Cup for 24 years and that was the same question I got asked in media every time I did it was, ‘How do you feel that you’ve never been alive when the All Blacks were world champions?’ so it was pretty cool to be a part of that.
“For myself, it was the start of my All Blacks career and hopefully we can have that in a couple of years for some of the young guys here too.”
The USA vs All Blacks is available to watch live in the US, Canada and Mexico on FloRugby
Comments on RugbyPass
Sinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
1 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
11 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
11 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
11 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
11 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
2 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
2 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to comments