New Zealand are perplexing – nobody knows which All Blacks will turn up against Ireland

New Zealand have scored the most points at the
World Cup so far but have recently come unstuck
 against tough opposition - Getty Images/Hannah Peters

How do you categorise this All Blacks side? It’s a question which has been tricky to answer over the last year or so, with New Zealand on Saturday night in Paris seeking to avoid their earliest Rugby World Cup exit since the 2007 quarter-finals.

Perhaps it depends on how much significance you ascribe to New Zealand’s defeat in the opening game of this World Cup to France, or their thrashing at the hands of South Africa at Twickenham in their final warm-up, or the first-ever Test series defeat at home against Ireland last summer.

The aura which left other nations intimidated by the All Blacks for so many years has faded. Are they now part of an elite quartet along with France, Ireland and South Africa? Or merely a very good side trailing slightly behind that trio, but above teams who either appear to have hit their ceiling - Scotland, perhaps Argentina - or are in the process of rebuilding like Wales and England?

By Ben Coles.

Full story at Yahoo News.