The All Blacks once again demonstrated why they are the complete package when they overpowered their fellow Southern Hemisphere giants with an overwhelming 19-0 pasting at the capital.

Those doubters and pundits who continue to be more eager to corrupt the aura and invincibility of this imposing team need to take a good hard look at themselves. Perhaps now they will concede that this mob is the most potent force in world rugby – the Manchester United or Ferrari of their sport.

The powerful and magnificent New Zealand rugby union team will always have their critics but they thoroughly deserve to be recognised as the most skilful, talented and destructive group of athletes in the universe. The haters may struggle to understand such dominance, but most fans of the game cannot help need only but appreciate the true ‘weapons of mass destruction’ that are simply known as the All Blacks.

The Springboks were never allowed to find a rhythm right from the start. It was no coincidence how the very first kick-off went out on the full, and from the ensuing penalty scrum at halfway, the men in black were ready to pounce, and pounce they did.

Master and commander Richie McCaw led the way with yet another phenomenal performance that will definitely have him ranked on parallel with the great Colin Meads. Meads was bestowed with the honour of being New Zealand’s Player of the 20th century and, with the way he’s playing, McCaw should be awarded the same recognition right now for the 21st century.

Time and time again, he was everywhere and how he manages to push himself to the limit defies belief. He was supposed to be out injured for six weeks not long ago, but it’s as if he was playing the whole time. I cannot speak too highly of the man. Amazingly, I still haven’t seen a bad game from McCaw and he is on the verge of playing 70 Tests by the end of the year. Now that’s incredible!

To maintain such lofty standards is enough inspiration to his team-mates but to display a consistent high level of performance is the stuff of legends. If he wasn’t dominating the rucks and set pieces, he would be hanging out wide to show some other great skills he hardly uses but actually picks and chooses the right moment to apply them.

The grubber kick he executed for the first try was no fluke as it was perfectly weighted and bouncing like it was meant for the chaser to complete the job, and Conrad Smith happily obliged. Bearing in mind that McCaw had actually scooped the ball up from his bootlaces, courtesy of Ma’a Nonu’s over-eager pass, before his peripheral vision took care of the rest.

Dan Carter is another all-time great and he too made the Springboks look very ordinary with his accurate punts to gain huge territorial advantage and guiding the team like only he can. You can’t even bag him for missing quite a few penalty goals, let alone two charged-down drop goals, such is the impact and massive contribution he gives the team week in week out.

The ‘Boks can count themselves extremely lucky for had the mercurial five-eighth converted all his shots over the crossbar, the All Blacks would have won the match by a ‘mere’ 40 points to nil! Carter compensated his goal-kicking horror with a smart individual try that will be played on the highlight reels over and over.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the South Africans seemed to be confused and were made to look like lost little lambs stuck in the middle of nowhere crying out for their mother. But such is the quality of this Springboks team that you realise how good the All Blacks really are when they had it all over them and made sure that it stayed that way for the entire match. The New Zealand lineouts – for a while it was known as their Achilles heel – has improved dramatically whilst the scrum retains its usual superiority.

The defence was outstanding and to keep them scoreless on their own turf is unheard of, and that itself was an historical achievement.

Even their key players, like the usually reliable Schalk Burger and Fourie du Preez, were subbed off due to a lack of input, and to add more insult, Percival Colin Montgomery was also given the cold treatment despite his gracious exit in his 100th Test.

Otherwise, the All Blacks produced another superb all-round team effort and they proved a lot of sceptical judges wrong by picking up where they left off in Auckland. They are closing in on another Tri-Nations triumph and it will take more than something special to stop them.

Jerome Kaino’s intimidating factor is still nowhere near his fellow-Samoan No.6 predecessor Jerry Collins but he played his part with some bustling runs and a satisfactory defensive effort, although he will regret an opportunity that went astray when he dropped a simple ball stone cold just before half-time. It was vitally important as it could have been a bonus point try.

But from the defending champions’ perspective, a win is a win and they can now refresh their weary bodies, recharge the batteries and focus on the final clash in Brisbane when the Wallabies return from their brutal twin battles in Durban and Johannesburg during the next fortnight.