Praise has flowed from around the world after the All Blacks created history with their 18th consecutive Test win on Saturday night.
Paul Rees The Guardian UK
"New Zealand are a class apart because they have so many match-winners. Savea spent the opening period looking like a man who had been asked for his ticket at the door of a party and could not find it. He turned gatecrasher after the break, bouncing off challenges from Speight and Nick Frisby to score his second try, his 45th in 49 internationals.
"The best, it is hard not to suspect, is yet to come."
Steve James, The Telegraph
"We saw enough of the real All Blacks to know that this side are still way ahead of the rest of the world and that they will continue to move upwards. Their fitness in the last quarter yet again proved irresistible.
"The first try of their six, after a mere five minutes, also gave a clearer picture of this team’s true worth. It was a sublime team try, of the type we have seen so often this year, with so many small moments of individual brilliance you could almost write a book about it.
To pick one out is difficult but when Kieran Read, so comfortable in the wide channels, picked up Anton Lienert-Brown’s pass on the bounce, took contact and then off-loaded to Israel Dagg without looking, I admit that I let out an audible gasp. It was that good, that sensational in its quality. By the time Smith put Dagg clear you knew that you had witnessed something very special."
Steve Bruce, ESPN
"Like many of the All Blacks' wins this season, Saturday night's triumph was achieved through a determined defence and an innate ability to strike when the opportunity presented.
"This record-setting run has produced some of the most scintillating play the sport has ever seen and reminded everyone that when rugby is played with such speed, power, skill and guile, there is no other game like it.
What we have seen from this great team since the turn of the decade has been nothing short of extraordinary; two World Cup wins, a Bledisloe run which will extend to a 15th year, three Rugby Championship titles and victories all over the globe, all the while doing it in a style that doesn't just make fans want to return, but demands it."
Sean Fitzpatrick – Former All Blacks captain and Sky Sports UK pundit
"This is the best All Blacks team I have ever seen."
18-match winning streak results:
New Zealand 37-10 Australia New Zealand 57-15 South Africa New Zealand 36-17 Argentina New Zealand 41-13 South Africa New Zealand 57-22 Argentina New Zealand 29-9 Australia New Zealand 42-8 Australia New Zealand 46-6 Wales New Zealand 36-22 Wales New Zealand 39-21 Wales New Zealand 34-17 Australia New Zealand 20-18 South Africa New Zealand 62-13 France New Zealand 47-9 Tonga New Zealand 43-10 Georgia New Zealand 58-14 Namibia New Zealand 26-16 Argentina New Zealand 41-13 Australia
Be sure to relive all the highlights of their history-making run in the video above.
Newshub.
