The All Blacks and a revitalized England dominated world rugby this year, boding well for what could be an epic British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand next year.
Even the most optimistic observer would have bet on the All Blacks suffering after losing a combined total of 589 caps when they waved farewell to iconic skipper Richie McCaw, emblematic goal-kicking playmaker Dan Carter, Keven Mealamu, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu after bagging a second successive Rugby World Cup in October last year.
It was that tournament in which England spectacularly underperformed, their failure to get out of their pool — the first time ever by a host country — hastening the departure of Stuart Lancaster and ushering in pragmatic Australian Eddie Jones.
From different angles, the two leading sides in world rugby hit this year running, both ending the year with 13 Test victories.
New Zealand racked up a record-equaling 18 Test wins, started last year, a sequence ended by a 40-29 defeat to Ireland in Chicago last month.
England finished the year undefeated, a first since 1992.
Under Jones — who had coached Japan at the World Cup, notably to the upset victory over South Africa — England bagged their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003 and won a first-ever Test series in Australia in a dynamic 3-0 whitewash.
The All Blacks completely dominated the Rugby Championship, winning the southern hemisphere’s elite round-robin tournament with two rounds still to play, averaging 44 points per match and a winning margin of 30. Among their victories was a memorable 42-9 stuffing of the Wallabies and a record 57-15 away victory over South Africa.
“To come out and do what we’ve done this year, lose just the one match, play some good rugby at times, to stand up under pressure late in the season when fatigue is a big factor, I’m very proud of our team,” said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who gave starts to 20 players who did not go to the World Cup.
Indeed, the Kiwi factory has not relented in producing some fantastically talented players.
How many other countries would cope with the departure of players of the quality and experience as Carter, Nonu and Smith in the backline?
Not many, but up stepped Beauden Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Malakai Fekitoa and Ryan Crotty, all looking like seasoned All Black professionals.
McCaw might have gone off to pilot helicopters, but No. 8 Kieran Read has assumed the captain’s duties with aplomb and the openside flank has been successfully occupied by Matt Todd, Sam Cane and Liam Squire.
For England, it was more of a mental change of attitude under Jones, rather than a change in the squad Lancaster struggled to get the best out of.
A good dose of arrogance and self-confidence has transformed the Red Rose team, the likes of James Haskell and the Vunipola brothers thriving under Jones’ no-nonsense approach, in which no player is guaranteed a place.
“The only record we are interested to beat is to be the No. 1 team in the world and to do that we have to win the World Cup,” Jones said, adding that he would be happy for his team to play the All Blacks “tomorrow.”
However, they will not. That will fall to the British and Irish Lions on a 10-match, three-Test tour, coached by Wales’ New Zealand-born Warren Gatland, who successfully led the amalgamated team to a series win over Australia in 2013.
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