Jonah Lomu in action, New Zealand All Blacks v England, at the Rugby World Cup in 1995. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Analysis - We're now less than a fortnight away from the All Blacks' showdown with France in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup 2023.
It is the 10th edition of rugby's global tournament, something that first took place years after it should have and completely reshaped the sport.
The All Blacks have famously won three titles and more infamously lost in iconic, controversial or just plain bad ways, so let's take a look back at how each World Cup unfolded for them:
1987
Hosts: New Zealand
Champions: All Blacks
The first ever World Cup is fondly remembered by New Zealanders - it was after all rugby's big redemption moment after an incredibly turbulent past decade.
Only six years after a Springbok tour caused the country to rip itself apart and less than 12 months after a rebel team had toured apartheid South Africa, the game's image needed something big. It got it when David Kirk lifted the trophy at Eden Park for the first time, after a tournament that saw them dominate everyone they played. The only game where the All Blacks didn't top 30 points was the final, where they beat France 29-9.
So, happy memories there because the main memory is Kirk's iconic moment, but the tournament itself was almost laughably put together. This was back when rugby was amateur, and it showed, with sponsorship deals put in place at the 11th hour, sparse crowds for non-local fixtures and dogs running on the field. But everything has to start somewhere.
1987 RWC FACT: The Soviet Union were supposed to attend, but withdrew in protest due to South Africa still being a member of the International Rugby Board.
1991
Hosts: UK, Ireland and France
Champions: Wallabies
The tournament shifted north and was played across several countries, which made for a pretty disjointed feel. The All Blacks came in with an ageing side and having sensationally dropped captain Wayne 'Buck' Shelford the year before, as well as having co-coaches Grizz Wyllie and John Hart in charge.
Signs that it wasn't going to be as straightforward as the last tournament came early, with tight wins over England and very brave Italian and Canadian teams, which led to a semi-final showdown against the Wallabies in Dublin.
The match turned out to be David Campese's finest in a glittering career, scoring one try and setting up another to send the All Blacks packing 16-6.
The Australians went on to win the title in a pretty turgid final against England, which set up a long period of introspection for the All Blacks over the next few years. Wyllie and Hart were replaced by Laurie Mains, who had his eye on a young player who had just come out of Wesley College in South Auckland.
1991 RWC FACT: The tournament is mostly remembered for the exploits of the Western Samoan team, who upset Wales and reached the quarterfinals. The side featured a number of future All Blacks.
1995
Hosts: South Africa
Champions: Springboks
The 1995 World Cup is certainly the most famous, and with good reason. Jonah Lomu, Nelson Mandela, the Rainbow Nation, the epic final and some potential poisoning/bad culinary choices (depending on who you listen to).
At the time, the All Blacks' 15-12 overtime loss to the Springboks thanks to a Joel Stransky drop-goal was heartbreaking for New Zealanders, but Lomu's incredible performance in the tournament kicked the game into professionalism by the next year. He scored four tries against England in the semi-final, plus two against Ireland and one more against Scotland, to return home as rugby's first global super star.
The All Blacks did gain a bit of revenge over the Springboks in 1996, winning a series in South Africa for the first time in the team's history.
1995 RWC FACT: The All Blacks defeated Wales as well at the tournament, which makes them the only side to claim a 'Grand Slam' inside a World Cup. They also defeated France and Italy later that year, which is the last time any team has recorded wins over all those nations in a calendar year.
1999
Hosts: UK, Ireland and France
Champions: Wallabies
Another crushing defeat, but this one wasn't taken in such good spirit by New Zealanders.
The newly professional All Blacks arrived full of swagger in a personalised painted jet, certainly looked the goods in pool play with a commanding win over England, breezed past Scotland in the quarters only to be beaten in a French ambush that would have made Napoleon proud.
The 43-31 loss at Twickenham ranks as one of the most painful ever, especially given that the All Blacks were comfortably leading well into the second half. Three French tries in 20 minutes saw the game turned on its head, and before they knew it, the All Blacks were playing off for third instead of for the World Cup. They lost that game too.
France celebrate after their semi final World Cup win against the All Blacks in 1999. Photo: Photosport
The Wallabies were in the midst of a golden age when they comfortably beat France in the final to become world champions for the second time. They would also hold the Bledisloe Cup for a five-year period, to date the last time they have ever done so.
1999 RWC FACT: The newly completed Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was the main stadium for the tournament, the first ever rugby venue with a retractable roof. It remains one of the most iconic stadiums in the world.
2003
Host: Australia
Champions: England
It was all going according to plan in '03, until Wallaby centre Stirling Mortlock picked off a Carlos Spencer pass and gunned it 80 metres up field at Stadium Australia to score a try that sent the All Blacks crashing out of another semifinal.
That was just the on-field failure for the NZRU. The tournament was supposed to co-hosted by New Zealand as well, but that right was lost due to some amateur-hour administration in regards to sponsorship rights.
The loss was even more galling given that the All Blacks had won back the Bledisloe Cup by beating the Wallabies twice earlier that year, including a 50-21 win at the same venue. England, who had beaten the All Blacks a few months previously in Wellington, went on to win thanks to an iconic Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal in the final.
The fallout was swift and strong: coach John Mitchell was shown the door despite an 83 percent winning record, and his preference for picking Leon MacDonald over Christian Cullen led to one of the great 'what if' discussions in the years since.
2003 RWC FACT: The All Blacks beat Wales 53-37 in their wildly entertaining pool game. Despite losing, the Welsh points tally was more than their first 64 years' worth against the All Blacks since they first met in 1905.
2007
Hosts: France, Wales, Scotland
Champions: Springboks
More French-inflicted misery, as the tournament hosts bounced back from a loss to Argentina in their pool to sensationally beat the All Blacks in a quarter-final - to date the worst result the All Blacks have ever had at a World Cup.
Much has been said about the manner of the 20-18 loss, almost entirely about a forward pass, referee Wayne Barnes and the ugly grey jerseys the All Blacks were wearing. But it does skip the fact that this was a very closely fought game, and there was no guarantee the result would have been different had Barnes seen Freddie Michalak's pass that set up Yannik Jauzion's try.
The All Blacks' soft draw certainly contributed to their demise, with games against Scotland, Romania, Portugal and Italy meaning they comfortably managed to be the highest scoring team in the tournament despite playing two fewer games than they should have.
2007 RWC FACT: While Portugal were flogged 108-13, prop Rui Cordiero has the distinction of scoring his nation's first ever try against the All Blacks. Cordiero barged over to the delight of the Lyon crowd, the same city where the All Blacks are based for the 2023 tournament.
2011
Host: New Zealand
Champions: All Blacks
Finally. After 20 years of waiting, the All Blacks could call themselves world champions again after defeating France 8-7 in an incredibly tense final in front of 60,000 at Eden Park.
The game has gone down in history as one of the most nerve-wracking events in the country's history, with the team losing Dan Carter, Colin Slade and Aaron Cruden to injury, meaning Stephen Donald was recalled to the side to kick the most important goal of his life. The fever around the country was something that's unlikely to ever be seen again as New Zealanders packed out stadiums, public viewing areas, pubs, clubs and sitting rooms to make it the largest sporting event ever to be held here.
Dubbed the three-way handshake: IRB boss Bernard Lapasset, PM John Key and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw with the Webb Ellis Cup at the conclusion of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Photo: Photosport
It is very much worth remembering that the win came only months on from the Christchurch earthquake, which condemned Lancaster Park and meant the city did not host any games.
2011 RWC FACT: France had effectively mutinied against their coach Marc Lievremont after they lost to Tonga in pool play, which meant his team selections certainly carried a very passive-aggressive bent. He selected Jean-Marc Doussain to make his test debut in a World Cup final - meaning the reserve halfback is the only player to be able to claim that status.
2015
Hosts: England, Wales
Champions: All Blacks
The All Blacks did it relatively easily the next time around, with only one close game coming in a 20-18 win over the Springboks in their semi-final.
The 62-13 quarter final destruction of France in Cardiff buried any lingering feelings about the 2007 loss, with the result being an even bigger hiding than the ones the All Blacks had dished out to Namibia, Georgia and Tonga. The final was very much another day at the office against the Wallabies, which was won 34-17 and bookended arguably the greatest four-year period in All Black history.
The final also saw the curtain come down on the test careers of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Tony Woodcock - who had 575 test caps between them.
2015 RWC FACT: Despite being held in the UK, the tournament was a stunning success for Southern Hemisphere rugby with the semi-finalists being the All Blacks, Springboks, Wallabies and Pumas.
2019
Host: Japan
Champions: Springboks
Did the All Blacks do the Boks the biggest favour ever by beating them in the opening game of the tournament?
Things might have been very different if Steve Hansen's side had been sent to the other side of the draw, where they may well have avoided the English team that bundled them out in the semi-finals. The loss was the end of Hansen's tenure as coach, but the cracks had started to appear two years previously when the All Blacks could only draw a series with the British & Irish Lions.
The Springboks went on to convincingly win the final 32-12, meaning they now share the record for the most World Cups with the All Blacks.
It was the first World Cup held in Asia, and the All Blacks' massive appeal in the Japanese market has led to it being a repeat destination for them since.
2019 RWC FACT: The final was supposed to be played at the stadium that was being built for the following year's Olympic Games, but it was unable to be built in time. Instead, it was held at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, which had also held the 2002 FIFA World Cup final.
