Enduring allure of all-conquering All Blacks makes them big in Japan | Andy Bull

Reigning champions have a huge following at this World Cup but not that many of them are from New Zealand• We are expanding our coverage of New Zealand. Please help us by supporting our independent journalismThree hours before kick‑off, the little square outside Tobitakyu station was already overflowing with New Zealand fans, spilling out down the road towards Tokyo Stadium. The ground holds 50,000 and by the time it was full you could see at least three-quarters of them were wearing black, mainly branded All Blacks swag. Jerseys, jackets, caps and flags. It didn’t matter that most of them hav…