There has been a lot of talk since the All Blacks brilliant World Cup final victory against Australia that this may be the greatest All Blacks team of all time? I have no doubt that they are a fantastic side, both on and off the park, and deserve all the accolades they receive. They are also the culmination of a fantastic era of New Zealand rugby, which comes to an end with the All Black retirements of Daniel Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Tony Woodcock, Kevon Mealamu, Conrad Smith, and almost certainly the talismanic captain of the side Richie McCaw. A number of the players in this side will go down as the best of the best.

However, the greatest All Black side that I have witnessed in my lifetime came together for a test match against Australia in August of 1996. In my opinion every member of that side, except Justin Marshall (sorry Justin nothing personal), could be talked about in conversations regarding being the greatest in their position for the All Blacks. And any team that features Christian Cullen and Michael Jones, two of my all time favorite players, has got to be right up there. Check out the starting XV:

1. Olo Brown

2. Sean Fitzpatrick

3. Craig Dowd

4. Ian Jones

5. Robin Brooke

6. Michael Jones

7. Josh Kronfeld

8. Zinzan Brooke

9. Justin Marshall

10. Andrew Merthens

11. Jonah Lomu

12. Walter Little

13. Frank Bunce

14. Jeff Wilson

15. Christian Cullen

Below is a highlights video of the match. A match which the All Blacks dominated from start to finish in bad weather conditions. In a strange end to the match, and perhaps out of mercy for the Wallabies, the referee blew full time with 3 and a half minutes still left on the game clock?