Jeremy Guscott’s verdict: You only get one shot with this brilliant side… take it!

We have only to see a little sign of weakness to jump on a bandwagon thinking that this New Zealand side are over the top, peaked and there for the taking. But if you ever needed reminding of how good they really are, this was a classic example of them at their brilliant best.
One thing is for sure though – the All Blacks are always rusty when they haven’t played for a while and more so than any other team because when they are in full flow they are near unplayable. After a 50-point trouncing like this, with the All Blacks looking pretty much untouchable in large chunks, Australia will know just how big a chance they let go begging last week.
Not only to get the win to kick off their Rugby Championship, but more importantly deconstructing the psychological barrier of beating an All Blacks team, which must now feel enormous for this Wallaby side. The Kiwis have had the Bledisloe Cup for 12 years, so long it’s now more like the All Black Bledisloe Cup – it’s become part of their silverware, not to be shared.
As a fan, you can’t help but admire the way they play while wondering what it is exactly that sets them apart: why are they so much better than the teams ranked just below them?
If you look at what dominant forces there have been in sport – and when I say dominant I mean SO much better than everyone else – most have been individual sportsmen. Tiger Woods, before his injuries, was ranked No.1 for five years plus, likewise Roger Federer was almost untouchable for a number of years. And the All Blacks are in that style.
But this is a team sport and one individual cannot win you all those games so it comes down to a collective mentality. Individually, there are quite a few better players around the world and on an individual basis not that many All Blacks would make my World XV.  However, collectively, this side, over the last 19 matches they’ve played have been unbeatable which is an amazing statistic. When they come together in that black shirt, their collective abilities are almost superhuman.
Everyone knows how the ABs tend to play and it is still astonishing how much they kick the ball away. But it is remarkable how many of those kicks become attacking plays, and how devastating they are with turnover ball.
A lot of the kicks are contestable and scrum-half Aaron Smith’s box-kicking was impeccable. It relieves pressure and immediately puts it on the opposition full-back. And then the charging wave of black shirts hit hard, time and again, scrambling to maintain their shape while forever focused on that one opportunity to turn the ball over. And when they win it back, they attack with devastating pace.
That was one of the stark differences to last week’s match when they weren’t able to produce so many turnovers with the conditions so poor in Sydney; nor were they as clinical themselves with too many unforced errors having not played together since the June Tests against England. But the tempo they are able to play at, even last week in patches, with and without the ball, far surpasses any other team’s capabilities.
I’ve never seen a team attack and defend with the same amount of energy, the same irresistible force. Very few sides have been able to compete with that ferocity over a sustained period. In patches Australia have, but they haven’t maintained it. And sides who have done well in the past against NZ, mainly England and South Africa, plus Australia between 1999-2003, have been relentless for 80 minutes because NZ are relentless in their pursuit of excellence.
However, the alarming thing for me still is that sides look less fit than New Zealand. And not just marginally so.  It staggers me how it is to the naked eye:  they look that much quicker and react that much faster and always finish strong.
Another aspect I hugely admire about this team is how they react when they do make a mistake. They play to the whistle and just get on with it; rarely will you see them look in despair at a referee’s decision or with disappointment at one another after an unforced error.
It may have been a 50-point game but it could have been different if the crucial high-tackle from Cory Jane on Israel Folau had been punished, rather than Julian Savea touching down for another NZ score.
The referee played on without signalling a penalty and Australia kept the ball going through the phases until new lock Sam Carter ran into Brodie Retallick and was turned over. A few phases later Savea was streaking under the posts unopposed. It was 16-6 with Folau on the run, looking to make it 16-13 at half time and instead the Wallabies turn around 23-13 down. It was then compounded when Kieran Read scored almost immediately after the re-start, again from turnover ball he had helped secure in his own half.  People can moan and whinge that NZ are not as attacking as we would like, but they are so much more dynamic and brilliant in their execution of the basic skills and that sets them apart.
They have a single-minded collective that is unrivalled and unmatched.
There is every chance that SA can beat them at home with their big, dominant pack. They are able to impart their physicality on them so NZ have to play even quicker than they would normally, and can afford fewer mistakes than they normally would. Plus SA have those match- winners like Bryan Habana and Willie Le Roux who can punish them. But to win the Boks will need to be at the top of the game. The last team to do that was England and how many mistakes did they make in that match at Twickenham? Not very many.
That is the minimum level of skill, accuracy, precision, commitment and tempo that you must deliver against NZ to stand a chance. Drop below that, you won’t win.
But are they beatable? Yes, of course they are. Richie McCaw may have scored two tries, but it was a classic case of what else did he do? Both his tries came from driving lineouts and he happened to be on the back of a dominant pack. But he made only eight tackles, missed two, and was yellow carded. Not quite the force he was and Read was more dominant.
For me it was brilliant to see a player like Ryan Crotty start his first game after a handful of caps off the bench. He fitted in and made a very good contribution at 12.
And you ask yourself, how many top sides would Crotty get in? It’s immaterial to this team, they just fit in. They do everything so accurately at pace, and very few sides can match it. There are some individuals who can, but collectively, to match them the team has to play the game of their lives, which England did in 2012.
And Australia now know that if you create the opportunity to beat this New Zealand team, you must take it because you will not get a second chance.
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on August 24.