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
It 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.
5 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.
1 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.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments