Gold said in his Rugby Paper column that Woodward's comments were 'highly exaggerated'.

The drawn series with the British & Irish Lions would have been of concern to the All Blacks and they would be looking for retribution in the Investec Rugby Championship, Gold said.

They were already going to be a tough nut to crack in the Championship but after their Lions' series they would look to set the record straight, he said.

"New Zealand is still the top-ranked team in world rugby. England won an impressive 18 matches in a row, but they still didn't earn enough ranking points to topple the All Blacks.

"That highlights how big the divide still is between the All Blacks and everybody else.

"However, the Lions showed that the All Blacks are not unbeatable," he said.

Gold felt the kicking game was an area in which the All Blacks could be exposed, depending on who was playing on the wings.

"When you come up against New Zealand, you need to execute a really efficient kicking game, have a good chase line to put the All Blacks under pressure and maximise the number of entries to the All Blacks' 22. The Lions managed to do that over the course of the series and if the All Blacks opt to select burly wingers who don't enjoy being turned around, such as Julian Savea and Waisake Naholo – Argentina, Australia and South Africa should look to target them.

"However, when the All Blacks pick more mobile players such as Ben Smith and Israel Dagg in their back three, as a professional coach, you have to think a bit smarter," he said.



But their lack of size meant opposing teams could try to get more momentum on the edges and apply pressure through those areas. Gold added that he felt New Zealand were in a 'precarious position'.

"Steve Hansen's men want to come out and play and go back to their freeflowing, try-scoring brand of rugby. The All Blacks will get to do that owing to their start in the competition against Australia and Argentina. However, I believe the Springboks are set to ask more questions of the New Zealanders during the Rugby Championship," he said.

South Africa, to succeed, would need to stick to their strengths with strong defence, and they should make no apologies for that, he said.

"The Springboks are strong men, enjoy the collisions and have stepped up on defence. It is an area they prided themselves on during the summer series against France," he said.

Now the Springboks needed to draw on the sort of spirit the Lions showed in their series.

"I don't want to go as far as saying that there is a glaring chink in the All Blacks' armour because I don't know that there is one.

"However, they are human and the Lions showed us that. If your game management is very good against the men in black, the contest tends to be much closer," he said.