OPINION: There have been many great All Black sides down the years. I was lucky enough to be part of a couple myself. But Richie McCaw's team have put themselves on a pedestal by becoming the first team to win back to back World Cups.

Win is the key word there. A lot of champion teams focus too much on defending their title, keeping what they have got, staying where they are. Not the All Blacks. They have kept raising the crossbar, kept improving and taken the game to new levels.

Even as rugby has evolved tactically, the one thing the All Blacks have always done is form a gameplan where the opposition cannot stay with you. That was true in my day and that is what we have seen throughout the World Cup. From the opening game against Argentina, the quarter-final against France, the semi-final against South Africa and on Saturday against Australia, the All Blacks have controlled the last quarter.



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Even when Australia rallied to come back into the game at 21-17, I was looking at their body language and they looked spent. There were situations where they were committing six or seven players to a ruck to deal with one All Black while the rest of New Zealand are spread out in a defensive line.

Some of that is to do with the brutal path that Australia have had to take to reach the final. To take on England, Wales, Scotland and Argentina in consecutive weeks was a mighty tall order. They deserve all our respect and admiration to fight the way they did.

You could see from the opening kick-off what New Zealand's intention was when Kieran Read smashed Israel Folau. A couple of phases later Conrad Smith did the same to Michael Hooper. It set the tone straight away. This is the intensity we are going to deliver.

1 of 10 PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES Prime Minister John Key has a quiet word. 2 of 10 TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS Standing tall with the Webb Ellis Cup. 3 of 10 SHAUN BOTTERILL/GETTY IMAGES Read and McCaw inspect their winning medals 4 of 10 SHAUN BOTTERILL/GETTY IMAGES Meeting Prince Harry before being handed the cup. 5 of 10 PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES Moments after the final whistle. 6 of 10 DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES Wallabies No 8 David Pocock tackles Richie McCaw during the World Cup final. 7 of 10 MIKE HEWITT/GETTY IMAGES Joining Kieran Read for a big hit on Stephen Moore. 8 of 10 PAUL CHILDS/REUTERS In the forefront of a stirring haka. 9 of 10 PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES Leading the All Blacks out. 10 of 10 PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES McCaw arrives for the Rugby World Cup final.

It is not just physical pressure that the All Blacks exert. They do not give you any outs, any leeway. Every line-out, every kick-off, every breakdown is contested. It is an enveloping, suffocating pressure. Some teams can live with that for 50-60 minutes but rarely the full 80. That is why they pull away in that last quarter. It also helps that you have the experience of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw to call upon in those tight situations. When others are slipping because of physical and mental exhaustion, they raise their game.



ALL BLACK GREATS

All those guys who are moving on like Dan, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu and in all probability Richie will go down as All Black greats. I think in years to come, people will talk of the privilege of watching them live. Certainly, I count myself blessed to have been at Twickenham on Saturday to see their last games.

I feel uneasy with conversations about who is the greatest or what an all-time All Black XV would look like. First of all, it is difficult to compare different eras seeing as how much the game has evolved. More importantly, it goes against the grain of being an All Black to put one guy above another. The collective has always come first.

It is almost paradoxical but to become a great All Black you have to forget about your individual needs and desires. That is why I think it is unfair to compare Richie McCaw with say Josh Kronfeld. They are part of the same club.

That is why I was so impressed by the way Richie has delayed his decision about his retirement to stop making last week all about him. He has taken control of the situation and will make his decision on his own terms.



NO ONE IRREPLACEABLE

It goes without saying that the All Blacks are going to miss those guys. It is almost 700 caps worth of experience they will be losing, however in New Zealand you learn that no one, including Dan or Richie, is irreplaceable. The same conversations happened after Tana Umaga and Michael Jones retired, but they were replaced. Someone always comes along.

That is because the conveyor belt is always creating new superstars. I watched a lot of ITM Cup rugby and there were some ridiculous talent waiting to come through. Akira Iaone, the Auckland No.8, will be pushing Kieran Read for his shirt very soon. Ardie Savea, the brother of Julian, is also an openside with a huge future.

Steve Hansen has also planned for this moment. Sam Cane, who would be a starter for most other teams, has been groomed in Richie's shadow for the past three years. He is a part of their leadership group and will be ready to step up if he holds off the likes of Savea. Likewise, Beauden Barrett and Malakai Fekitoa have learnt the ropes from Carter and Nonu.

That is why people expecting New Zealand to dip will be disappointed. Just as the crossbar was raised after 2011 so Hansen and his other coaches will raise it again in 2016. Crucially, they can still call upon the power of the shirt.

All teams have pride in representing their country, but in New Zealand it means something more to pull on an All Black jersey. The expectation of wearing the black jersey places a significant value, meaning and responsibility for you as a player and for us as nation. When the All Blacks lose, it is not just the 23 players who hurt but the whole country.

For most New Zealanders it is not whether the All Blacks win or lose but how much they beat the other team by. That expectation would crush other teams but it lifts the All Blacks. So whoever eventually fills Richie's and Dan's shoes will be expected to live up to their standards straight away. The kings are dead, long live the kings.