If the All Blacks choke again at the World Cup, there is one team above all others that New Zealanders do not want rubbing their noses in it by lifting the trophy in their backyard - Australia.
A survey published in the New Zealand Herald ranked Australia the runaway leader when fans were asked "which country do you least want to win the World Cup?".
New Zealand's trans-Tasman neighbour polled 33.8 percent on the survey of 750 people, almost doubling the next least-popular nation South Africa's figure of 18.6.
While the All Blacks regularly dominate their Bledisloe Cup clashes with the Wallabies, Australia have won two World Cups, in 1991 and 1999, to New Zealand's one, in 1987.
Worse still the Wallabies have twice knocked New Zealand out of the tournament in the semifinals, despite being ranked below their All Black rivals.
New Zealand's former colonial master, England, ranked third on Kiwis' most disliked list, polling 9.1 percent, with France fourth on a modest 6.5 percent, even though it too has eliminated the All Blacks twice, in 1999 and 2007.
A contrary 4.3 percent of New Zealanders named their own country as the one they would least like to win, although the All Blacks remain the bookies' favourite for the tournament which starts on September 9.
AFP
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