It seems New Zealand pride themselves on being the number one side for the three years between World Cups, and then there is a dramatic fall from grace in the year that counts.
Many scholars of the game say the predictable thing about chocking as I have in the paragraphs below. But if you look a little deeper in the trough you will see that perhaps it's not New Zealand's fault at all. Perhaps they're just being played by other nations.
The perennial powerhouses of World Cup Rugby, Australia South Africa and England have a canny knack at timing there run to the World Cup. So there squad is at the peak of its powers when the game is never more important.
New Zealand always plays their best side and they love to punish you, and I love that about them. But does it come at a cost of wining the biggest prize on the Rugby landscape?
Australia, England and South Africa choose squads with the next World Cup in mind, even if that means suffering in the mean time with a little tough love. It requires some patience from fans, but in the long run you don't see them run out of puff on the big stage.
New Zealand a country still hurting from recent natural disasters have never wanted a Cup so badly. And some might even see they need it to heal their nation. Just like when Nelson Mandela lifted the Cup on South African soil back in 95'.
If they win they will have to have had overcome their all or nothing system that hasn't seemed to work for them in the past. It's going to be a great spectacle, enjoy!