World Cups are not won by accident. Occasionally the world's No1-ranked team has failed to deliver but there has never been a champion side who sneaked undeservedly in via the back door. What did Australia in 1999, England in 2003 and South Africa in 2007 all have in common? They were well coached, well led and contained at least half a dozen world-class players apiece.
As the All Blacks await Sunday's date with destiny, they will leave it to others to assess them as worthy champions or otherwise. By most objective criteria, there can be little doubt. Graham Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hanson have moulded a squad sufficiently talented and resilient to withstand even the loss of the world's best player. Richie McCaw is the sort of man who makes New Zealanders prouder still of their roots. And world-class individuals? The spine of this All Blacks team is unquestionably stiffer than anyone else's at this tournament.
What comes first: the coaching, the leadership, the team spirit or the pedigree of the cattle? That particular debate has been of renewed interest ever since I popped into a second-hand bookshop the other week and invested £1.50 in a mildew-stained volume lurking in a cardboard box on the floor. Fred Allen on Rugby was published over 40 years ago, but the old master coach's observations still provide a timeless peek into the All Blacks psyche.
Here is the "The Needle" – now "Sir Needle" – on the importance of captaincy: "I believe that the good team is the thinking team. The importance of good captaincy to this cannot be overstressed." Or this, on the subject of whether cocky individuals have a place in a team context: "The fellow who gets brassy about himself, who thinks he can walk the water, is a nuisance who needs to have his head put under a cold tap for a time. I am half inclined, all the same, to think him a better risk than the chap who is wanting in confidence."
It was Allen's belief – and the 1967 All Blacks touring team he guided around Britain, France and Canada long ago secured his reputation as one of the great rugby gurus – that a coach needed to foster four qualities in his players: discipline, respect, team spirit and morale. Players who have faith in their team leaders, regard for their colleagues and ooze commitment and pride, are far more likely to generate success than those with a more solitary, selfish focus.
Each and every word remains true to this day. The All Blacks, more so than any other team, consistently add up to more than the sum of their parts. Henry's headmasterly scolding of reporters who dare to ask impertinent questions – you suspect he might have propelled several blackboard rubbers in his classroom days – sometimes obscures his motivational and tactical abilities, but he knows better than most how to instil a winning mentality.
The contrast with the disjointed French camp continues to be striking. If the difference between the sides' off-field cultures does not become apparent in the second half on Sunday, it will be a major surprise.
All of which should interest the Rugby Football Union, among others. When deciding who should guide the national team to the 2015 World Cup, the RFU has a delicate balance to strike. To win a World Cup it needs good players and a good captain, neither of which should be impossible to find. There are plenty of decent coaches out there, too. But unless everyone is pulling in the same direction, for a shared cause, with a fierce sense of pride in the jersey worn by the players, the notion of hoisting the Webb Ellis Cup is fanciful in the extreme. Unless, of course, France can expose the firm beliefs of Allen, Henry at al as mere idealistic nonsense.
Home and away
After their painful exit, Wales will deserve major credit if they finish this tournament on a high note in Friday's bronze-medal final. Both sides would probably rather lie down in a darkened room. Global sympathy will swiftly dissolve, however, if Wales are permitted to play any of their pool games at the 2015 tournament at the Millennium Stadium. What sort of message of support would that send out to the likes of Argentina, Samoa or any of the tier-two countries? England are supposed to be hosting the tournament, with Wales among the visiting nations. Allowing the Welsh to play pool games in Cardiff might make sense financially, but it will do nothing for the integrity of the competition.
Worth watching this week …
New Zealand's supporters have been waiting an awfully long time for this weekend. Sunday finally offers the chance to end two decades of gloating at their collective expense. Defeat to Australia, as one paper put it, would have been the worst outcome since the Chappell brothers took up lawn bowls. Victory over France would be sweet as, bro.
