The man who won the last Rugby World Cup has endorsed the All Blacks' prospects of finally ending their 24-year drought at the global tournament in New Zealand later this year.
Former Springboks coach Jake White, who guided South Africa to their second global crown in France in 2007, has said he believes Graham Henry's team will end their series of World Cup chokes when they host the tournament for the first time since 1987.
Incidentally, 1987 was also the last occasion an All Blacks captain raised the Webb Ellis Cup.
White, who has just agreed to a four-year deal to coach the ACT Brumbies from 2012, told Radio Sport in an interview from Cape Town he had no doubts the more attack-minded New Zealanders could prevail at this year's tournament.
"The laws are definitely going to suit the All Blacks and the way they play," he said. "One of the things they've got, and has always been a bonus, is that everybody in New Zealand plays the same style of rugby.
"I've got no doubt the All Blacks are favourites. They've got a wonderful group of players, they've got a coaching staff that stayed on, they've got a settled squad unlike the rotation policy they had in '07, and they've got some wonderful players coming through.
"I think they must be firm favourites.
"Any person who understands rugby will know it's very difficult to win in New Zealand, New Zealand are the form team, New Zealand want to win the World Cup, and it's about time New Zealand won the World Cup.
"Whoever is going to go there and try to win the World Cup in New Zealand is going to have to be very, very good to take it away from a country like New Zealand in New Zealand."
White also wasn't interested in any theory that the All Blacks' mental fragility would be exposed under the pressure of expectation. He says teams that go to New Zealand banking on that will be on a fool's errand.
"If the only hope teams have of winning the World Cup is because New Zealand are going to fold then you're not going to win anyway," he told Radio Sport. "If you're banking on some other team losing before you can win it you might as well not attend.
"If you look at history, teams who host World Cups play a lot better... there are two chapters you can read. Chapter 1 says New Zealand win World Cups they host. Chapter 2 says New Zealand don't play well away from home and don't do well at World Cups. It depends which chapter you want to stick to."
But White did caution that despite the current laws benefiting the attacking style of the All Blacks that "defence is vitally important" at World Cups.
"Big calls get made by refs, and there are not a lot of tries scored from the halfway line, and not a lot of tries scored from your own try line. You've still got to get field position, still got to hold on to the ball, and still get points on the board with good goal kicking."
