Our darkest hour - ever!

"Our darkest hour"? No, not the bombing of Pearl Harbour or 9/11 or even the recent eruption of Mt. Ruapehu. Worse yet. The All-Blacks, perennial rugby favorites, lost again -- early and badly -- in the Rugby World Cup. In NZ, a whole nation mourns. Here are some of the headlines in today's papers.

From www.stuff.co.nz
Our darkest hour - ever!

The horror, the horror. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the All Blacks at the World Cup, it did.

Nightmare continues: ABs fried by French

Four more years. Those bitter words, plus the screaming celebrations of 20,000 Frenchmen, were ringing in the ears of the All Blacks after they were sensationally bundled out of the World Cup by France 20-18 in Cardiff on Sunday with Graham Henry's side suffering New Zealand's earliest exit from the tournament.

Our gods fall to earth

The All Blacks didn't play badly, but they didn't play well enough. For long periods of this test match they played better rugby than any other team in the competition is remotely possible of playing.

Teary All Blacks 'grief stricken'

"Don't let it happen again".

Rugby: All Blacks choked

Chokers. That is what international media are labelling the All Blacks after they crashed out of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals against France this morning.

Sports writers were left in as much disbelief as All Blacks fans after New Zealand let a 10-point halftime lead turn into 18-20 loss in Cardiff - their worst ever World Cup performance.

"You've got to choking, it's a new world order" said the Sydney Morning Herald's, while "End of the world for the All Blacks" was brandished across Britain's Telegraph website.

"They said it could not happen again. They said that New Zealand could not botch another World Cup. They said that there would not be a repeat of 1999 at Twickenham when France, from nowhere, humbled the seemingly invincible All Blacks," wrote the Telegraph's Steve James.

"Well, revise your opinions. New Zealand have yet another long wait and France are through to face England in an intruiging semi-final in Paris next Saturday (Sunday NZ time)."