Scrumhalf Aaron Smith behaved like a "dickhead" and he was ejected from the All Black squad with little hesitation after evidence of a lusty liaison with a female "friend" emerged this week. "No dickheads" are allowed in the All Black setup - it has been an official internal mantra since 2005 - even if that player is the best in his position in the world. It's a policy that has turned the All Blacks from a very good team into possibly the greatest ever sports team.Smith fell foul of that policy during his unseemly tryst in a disabled toilet stall at Christchurch airport last month. Smith wasn't thrown out by coaches or management either. His peers meted out the sentencing and punishment.For more than a decade player power has driven the All Black culture and the results have been greater than anyone might have imagined after the team reached a crossroads in the bowels of Ellis Park Stadium in mid-2004.story_article_left1It was after a 40-26 defeat to the Springboks that NZ rugby forced itself to take a long, Kieran Read-hard look at its problems, and come up with a plan and a solution.The team were very good, but had a culture of drinking and misbehaving that, according to flyhalf at the time Nick Evans, made assistant coach Wayne Smith say he wanted nothing to do with All Black rugby."It was the norm at that time," Evans told Britain's Telegraph last year."There was still the amateur ethos. What made it worse was that we had a terrible campaign [in 2004]. Afterwards, it was Wayne Smith who said, 'I don't want to be involved with the All Blacks if it is going to be like this'."And much like the indaba that Springbok coach Allister Coetzee has called with all the Super Rugby coaches later this month, NZ rugby leadership did the same later that year.For three days they thrashed out a plan and at the end it was stunningly simple. Players had to drive the culture of the team and to do that, a core leadership group would establish the team's code and also police it. "No dickheads allowed" was adopted.So this week when Aaron Smith's indiscretions were about to be made public via footage taken by members of the public, it was the scrumhalf's teammates who sent him packing.At the NZ indaba in late 2004 several other core principles were established that have underpinned their success.Making incremental gains by working harder, remaining humble, finding ways and triggers to think clearly in the heat of battle and ensuring that they left the jersey in a healthier state than they found it were the pillars on which they built their reform.full_story_image_hright1It's easy to forget that the All Blacks chose to do this at a time when they were not freefalling down world rankings and were still a dominant force. The 2004 Tri Nations had been disappointing and internally they knew that their system was broken and needed fixing.Between 1903 and 2004 the All Blacks had won an impressive 72.7% of 392 tests. From 2005 to the present [yesterday's test against the Springboks not included] they won 88.3% of the 154 tests they played.It's a massive increase in success and in that period they've also won the World Cup twice and been undefeated at home for seven years.Since their 2004 indaba, they have lost a mere 16 tests in nearly 12 full seasons with an average winning score of 35-15. Over a dozen seasons, they have been 20 points better than their opponents. It's staggering.By comparison, over the same period, the Springboks, as the second-most successful team, have won 64.3% of their 145 tests, incurring 49 defeats. They also captured the 2007 World Cup.Australia have only won 55.7% of their 158 tests in the same period, losing 66 times. England have a marginally better 56.6% winning record with 57 defeats in 136 matches and France, the other regular top-five team in the period, also had 57 losses in 136 matches.As far as sports teams go, the All Blacks may be peerless.It's almost impossible to do a direct comparison between the All Blacks and teams from other sporting codes, but even the greatest football teams don't produce the same winning percentages as New Zealand.Manchester United under Alex Ferguson were the dominant team in England for nearly 20 years, winning 13 Premier League crowns and two European Champions League titles. But they only won 59.7% of their matches.full_story_image_vright2Barcelona, in their prime under Pep Guardiola had a fantastic 72.5% winning record over four years and 247 games. Three La Liga and two Champions League titles were an impressive haul.Arsenal's "invincibles" of 2003-04 are perhaps the closest comparison to the All Blacks, but over a much shorter time frame.Over 38 games they won 26 with 12 draws to take the Premier League crown, becoming only the second team to achieve an undefeated season in England's highest division.Such consistency over one season is remarkable, but the All Blacks have achieved it over more than a decade.Australia's test cricket side from 1995-2007 are a good comparison because their dominant era was roughly 12 years as well.But even they "only" won 95 of 140 tests they played for a 67.8% winning average during that period."There is a desire to constantly be better and that is ingrained in the culture of All Black rugby," 2011 World Cup winning coach Graham Henry told the Sunday Times in an interview in 2013."As a brand the All Blacks are huge both in New Zealand and globally, and the players have a massive amount of respect for it. They constantly try to improve the brand and respect the legacy. When it's your time, you try to enhance the name of the All Blacks and leave it in a better state for the next custodians of the jersey."Before yesterday's clash at King's Park the All Blacks had won 16 tests in a row. The world record stands at 17 consecutive wins, which their own 2013-14 team and SA's 1997-98 team shared.full_story_image_hright3Nick Mallett, who coached the Boks in 16 of those 17 wins, said in his analysis this week that the current All Blacks deserved to hold that record alone.They've come close before and in 2014 were thwarted by a draw against the Wallabies in search of their 18th straight win, but still added another four wins for a 22-match unbeaten streak.Current coach Steve Hansen, who succeeded Henry in 2012, has been in charge for 62 tests with 57 wins and only three defeats with two draws. His team have raised the bar and currently enjoy a 92% winning ratio.The All Blacks could be the greatest sports team ever, but statistically they are the greatest rugby team to have ever played the sport. And frighteningly their appetite and skill for winning look a long way from being sated...