Recognition on world stage

The All Blacks bring joy and pride to many New Zealanders.

They provide a focus for interest and a distraction from the cares and concerns of life, family and work. When they won the Rugby World Cup last October, the first team to win successive cups, they brought excitement mixed with satisfaction.

Many identify the All Blacks as our warriors, our representatives, in what is a tribal and nationalistic response inbred in humankind.

Thus, the All Blacks' triumph as World Team of the Year in the Laureus sports awards in Berlin is gratifying and pleasurable.

Here are our men on a world pedestal, ahead of finalists FC Barcelona, the Golden State Warriors basketball team, Formula 1 Mercedes, the British Davis-Cup tennis winning squad and the United States World-cup winning women's football team.

Here is recognition, in what are seen as the Oscars of the sporting scene, for little New Zealand on the international stage.

This was the last fling for a ‘‘golden generation'' of All Blacks, exemplified by captain Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, widely recognised as the greatest All Black and the best first-five respectively.

Carter, written off by some rugby pundits and who it seemed would forever be thwarted from winning a World Cup, came back from years of sporadic injuries and setbacks to win the ‘‘Comeback of the Year'' award. He proved his class and composure in the later stages of the finals.

Rugby in New Zealand has a history sprinkled with arrogance, bullying, excessive drinking and overly macho attitudes.

That, and the way it dominates the sporting and cultural landscape, spurs resentment in some quarters. There is a feeling the adulation and attention to the game and to its stars is too much, that it has an undue position of privilege.

Nevertheless, there is no denying the place of the All Blacks in the New Zealand psyche and their popularity.

A measure of arrogance, sometimes behind a cloak of seeming humbleness, remains. It is, in fact, one of the reasons the All Blacks do so well.

Rugby is organised so players receive the best treatment and the All Blacks have every opportunity to do well, even if that is, on occasions, at the expense of the Super competition. The team is expected to win every test match and very nearly does.

The fear of losing and the pressure to succeed drives the organisation and the players to take nothing for granted.

In many ways, the All Blacks provide a fine example for business and for other sporting codes. Players these days need to have good character on top of their sporting ability. The culture, under strong coaches, emphasises the team being bigger than any individual.

Crucially, attention is directed to detail and every possible advantage is extracted. Hard work is combined with shrewdness and purpose. High standards are mandatory.

The All Blacks should not have been considered outsiders for the awards, despite the credentials of Barcelona and Formula 1 Mercedes and despite rugby having a small global reach compared to football or basketball.

Laureus judges seem to like World Cup-winning teams, and the English and South African teams have won after World Cup triumphs.

This was the sixth All Black appearance in the finals, and they were due after the back-to-back World Cup wins. The award consolidates their position at the top of the rugby tree and can do no harm with sponsors and for deals for television rights.

As coach Steve Hansen said, in a post-award interview, reflecting the nature of international sport these days: ‘‘It's great for the All Black brand.''

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