Israel Dagg scored two tries in the 57-15 romp over the Springboks in Durban.

It's a question that, the more this All Blacks team wins, the more it will be asked: Is this the greatest era of all time?

Many certainly think so. Some even suggest possibly the best sports team ever.

It's difficult to argue with successive World Cups; 17 victories in a row, a record-breaking triumph over the Springboks and a winning ratio that sits a tick over 92 per cent since 2012. New horizons loom each week; the next at Eden Park against the Wallabies.

GETTY IMAGES Wayne Smith, right, and the All Blacks coaching group takes pride in what the team achieves.

Wayne Smith traces it right back to the 1905 Originals. He says everyone must read Lloyd Jones' The Book of Fame, an award-winning novel based on factual accounts of the first team to wear the black strip in their tour of Britain.

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On the boat over, Dave Gallagher kept his men fit through boxing and other exercise. He also studied the laws of the game and discovered a loophole, devising a new position. The "wing/forward" was born and, with it, the ability to play in both roles.

"They worked out strategically on the way over how to utilise such a position," Smith explains. "They went through Europe and reinvented themselves. It's that No 8 wire and the ability to be bold and take risks. I reckon that established what followed over the next 111 years.

"Every All Black team has had that ability. Not every All Black team has won all the time but they always reinvent and start winning again. The laws change and All Blacks have always been a quick team to adapt.

"I think it's a New Zealand society thing that we're hugely proud of the All Blacks and have huge expectations of them and they deserve that.

"Where do you stand in history? It's difficult to know. I do know we've reinvented ourselves again and done it really quickly. We've replaced guys that people thought we were going to take ages to replace.

"As individuals they will be but as a team the work we've done, led by Steve, has been outstanding. The players have really come to the party. The new players have come in and seen the challenge.

"There'll be some hiccups along the way no doubt but it's very exciting to be involved with."

Smith, ever humble, has been a huge factor behind this team's constant evolution. He's masterminded a defensive strategy that's seen the All Blacks concede just five tries in the Rugby Championship.

The system, based around line speed, was first put in place last year. With time comes understanding, and it's now at a point where breaking the All Blacks down is as difficult as containing their attack. Smith credits Nic Gill's get-off-ground, be fitter and faster than anyone else approach, along with the work Pete Gallagher and George Duncan do around stretching. But there's no doubting his influence.

"We really developed at the World Cup and made some changes to our alignment. That's always difficult. A lot of defence is about strategy.

"We're pretty hard markers, which probably tells you something about the team. We're never totally happy with anything. I think that's one of the strengths of the All Blacks and always has since 1905.

"It's a combined effort. It's not just me going out there and saying 'do this'."

After 19 years with the All Blacks, Smith is on the cusp of being involved with something no team has ever done; setting a world record for 18 unbroken test wins against top tier opposition.

"As a coach you're there to help others get better. You don't make any tackles or line breaks. But you still take pride in what the team achieves. It's something the team is driven to try and achieve.

"If you try and improve your place in history, all those things like winning World Cups and records add to that. You're in the jersey a short time and if you can keep the lustre strong and the jewel shining that's what we're trying to do."

Get the dark glasses out because, right now, that jewel sparkles brighter every time this team takes the field.