Uptight and upset: here are two scenes from the last World Cup, in 2003. Three weeks out, the All Blacks held an open training session in Nelson, atop New Zealand's South Island. As the players turned it on for the 5,000 spectators, TIME's reporter asked squad official Matt McIlraith for a brief interview with the coach, John Mitchell, who was overseeing practice the way a chess master examines the board. While he didn't quite scoff, McIlraith made it clear there was precisely zero chance of the request being granted. Mitchell wasn't feeding the chooks anymore, he said. He was...
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