All Blacks still have 'monkey on back'
With that mission accomplished, Hansen said the 2015 All Blacks' had new goals of becoming the first New Zealand team to win the Webb Ellis trophy on foreign soil, and the first from any nation to successfully defend the crown.
And these are very realistic goals considering the strength of their squad.
However, coach Steve Hansen said there was no complacency in the All Blacks' camp, with fresh World Cup challenges looming.
The defending champions entered the last tournament in 2011 determined to end a 24-year World Cup drought and cast off a reputation for choking on the big stage.
"You've still got a monkey on your back because you've got to win it. There's an expectation to win it, the same as there was in the last one [2011]," Hansen said.
"The difference is we're going abroad, there's a massive excitement about the challenge we've got. We are trying to do something no other team has done before.
"This team needs big challenges. We have been the number one side in the world for a long time and you can't just keep plodding along doing what you used to do," added Hansen.
Hansen said New Zealand's shock loss to France in the quarterfinals of the 2007 World Cup remained etched in the All Blacks' collective psyche, ensuring they would not allow standards to slip.
Hansen was an assistant coach under Graham Henry for that match, when the heavily favoured All Blacks' swaggered into Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and paid the price as Les Bleus carved out an inspired 20-18 win.
"Everyone remembers 2007, whether you were there watching or back home, whether you were a player or a media representative, no one's forgotten it," he said.
"It's a great reminder to all of us that if you don't step up you go home."
Source: Agence France-Presse
