Their World Cup campaign has been built on living in the moment. New Zealand waited 24 long, painful years for their next World Cup success. A team that traversed the historic lows of the first loss and, then, home defeat to the Pumas; the first home series loss to Ireland, their largest single test defeat, lowest world ranking, two assistant coaching changes and maiden World Cup pool defeat now stands on the verge of becoming the most unlikely World Cup winners ever. Their odds further lengthened after successive defeats to the Boks and France, the latter in their World Cup opener. “The blessing in disguise for us was coming into this World Cup we were going under the radar.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 23, 2023 18:10 UTC