Jonathan Kaplan breaks up a fight during a Super Rugby game between the Hurricanes and the Chiefs in Wellington in 2012.

OPINION: Without sounding arrogant, I'm probably in a fairly strong position to be able to offer an opinion on refereeing the All Blacks, their franchises and refereeing in NZ.

Until recently I had refereed them more times than anyone else (18) and had been a part of the Super Rugby system for the better part of two decades. I travelled to NZ more than 100 times (I still feel I should have been offered citizenship!) and refereed in most parts of the country.

At some stage, probably their referee of choice, they had their fair share of success with me, as well as failure.

Hagen Hopkins Johnathan Kaplan reckons he should be offer New Zealand citizenship after visiting so many time to referee matches.

In fact, it didn't start out well when they lost their first two tests (against Australia and then France) and then were 3 from 7, before ending up with 14 wins from 18 in the end.

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I don't believe the stat is slanted either way percentage-wise as I refereed them over a long period against the best of the rest. They were probably a bit stiff themselves against Australia in 2000 losing deep into injury time, and other than a Bledisloe fixture in 2006 in Christchurch (32-12) where I didn't referee up to my usual standards, I can't ever remember reviewing and thinking that they got the rub of the green.

DEREK FLYNN / MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS Referee Jonathan Kaplan talks to Richie McCaw (left) and Tony Woodcock during a Bledisloe Cup match in 2010.

Personally I enjoyed going to NZ and refereeing there. We were pretty much left to our own devices with liaison officers being helpful rather than gushing with their hospitality. I was never exposed to any form of coercion or suggestion, and when their national team lost those first two matches they were nothing but gracious to their opponent as well as myself as a rookie referee (I have always remarked how special that was for my career and was grateful to both Todd Blackadder and Wayne Smith for their humility and grace).

I never found their stadia to be particularly daunting or intimidating, and neither the general public. Most have opinions on the game, but that's understandable as it is part of their national identity . Only once in just about 17 years was a bloke ever aggressive towards me after a narrow loss, but he too sought me out at 4.30am to apologise for his behaviour (Wellington 2000).

So what sets them apart?

Phil Walter The All Blacks have a strong sense of identity and history.

Well I've touched on the fact that it is part of their national identity. That probably makes it just that much more important to them, but certainly not to the referee. I think their culture as a nation emphasises excellence and the whole nation supports the brand. They are efficiently run, with their resources often open to plunder from rich clubs overseas, and their centralised system of recruitment has been an unqualified success. The best players end up getting game time and therefore development in the toughest of competitions (Super Rugby) .

I think they lean on the weight of history quite strongly trying to maximise responsibility, skill and leadership with some value added component. Forged with the brand and a strong culture it is a recipe for success.

All those are good, but I really think it is about their coaching and what they emphasise. It's about their philosophy on the game and how and where they are prepared to push the envelope in order to win. It's about using their resource pool and getting the best out of individuals to create the legacy of greatness. There is very little overt flash in their individuals but much in their end product.

GETTY IMAGES Coaching is strong component of the All Blacks success, believes Johnathan Kaplan. ) All Black coaching staff Mike Cron, Steve Hansen and Ian Foster are seen here.

Where they sometimes infuriate the greater rugby fraternity is the manner in which they test the referee and his team, how they push the envelope. Whilst none of their captains or coaches ever stepped over the mark with me (that includes McCaw), they certainly do put a lot of heat on the referee and force him to make decisions which can be quite daunting for young referees who have not been coached correctly in dealing with pressure.

Their philosophy often appears to be a game within a game whereas some other nations are often more interested in the law book or abiding by the letter of the law. In many instances the All Blacks are the more penalised team in a match, but it is the relevance of those penalties that is the crux of the matter.

I would also have to state that I am critical of referee managers who for many years have not wanted to address some tactics until it was too late. Flooding the breakdown, playing opponents beyond the ball and on the side of tackle/rucks, players deliberately running ahead of the play and interfering with defenses, the upgrading of sanction for foul play (close to the try line or after a line break), a judiciary that seems to find little wrong comparably and the confusing messages that we as referees get from the managers when action is taken are areas which need more attention.

The referees only meet a few times a year so the sharing of information is severely hampered and I don't think there is enough cohesion, remedial attention and understanding of the game. When it does finally come they are behind the 8-ball. This would seem to benefit those teams that were prepared to push the envelope strategically and the All Blacks are certainly one of those.

Having said all that, I will say that they do have a particularly gifted group of players at the moment as well as quite a few outstanding coaches who could easily coach other top international teams to great success.

In short, they are deservedly the best.

Jonathan Kaplan is South Africa's most celebrated and respected rugby referee, setting various records in tests and Super Rugby before his retirement in 2013.