What are the greatest teams in sporting history? It’s a question that Sam Walker of the Wall Street Journal set out to answer when researching his new book, The Captain Class. Walker settled on 16 club and national teams, from baseball’s New York Yankees of the mid-20th century and basketball’s Boston Celtics a decade later, to the Australian women’s hockey team in the 1990s and the all-conquering Barcelona footballers who played from 2008 to 2013.
Only one team features twice on the list – the All Blacks. Walker chose the New Zealand rugby teams of 1986 to 1990 and of 2011 to 2015, and also had the 1960s team on his shortlist. That should not have been a big surprise. For the All Blacks, who play against the British and Irish Lions in the deciding Test of the three-match series in Auckland on 8 July, are the most dominant team in the history of sport.
Content from our partners
