Writing in The Independent, Hugh Godwin wonders, after watching New Zealand sweep France aside, if there is a side capable of preventing the Kiwis from winning the World Cup.
"They have said it many times, in many ways, but it can be summarised in one sentence from Craig Dowd, who told a radio audience last week: 'The only team who's going to beat the All Blacks is the All Blacks.'
"And the listeners up and down this country - simultaneously en fête and on the edge of a nervous breakdown - smiled and nodded and agreed and crossed their fingers, trusting to God or their own personal spirit that the craggy-faced old prop was right.
"There have been 1,109 men, including Dowd, accorded the status of an All Black down the years: 794 of them in Tests, 551 since the war. And it has felt like most of those still in the land of the living have popped up this last fortnight to declare their faith in Richie McCaw's team to win the World Cup; to win it back 24 years after the team captained by David Kirk and coached by Brian Lochore took the inaugural final on home soil."
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