All Blacks coach Steve Hansen can see where his predecessor, Sir Graham Henry, is coming from.
But Hansen wants his team to continue improving without the need of a loss as a wake-up call.
Henry, with Hansen as an assistant, steered New Zealand to the World Cup title in 2011.
However, 12 months out from the start of their defence, Henry is worried they might get too used to winning and believes some adversity, namely a loss, might have benefits.
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Henry points to the way New Zealand bounced back from the huge disappointment a 12-12 draw with Australia in August – a result that ended hopes of a record 18th successive Test win – to thrash the Wallabies 51-20 a week later.
Hansen says he understands what Henry is saying and agrees that teams do dig deeper when they lose. But he questions why they can’t do that when they’re winning.
“You find the inconvenient facts, so to speak, a lot easier when you’re hurting,” he said on Saturday.
“But what we’ve tried to do over the last few years is find those things that make a difference to your performance when you’re winning, so you don’t have to lose.”
Since Hansen took over after the last World Cup, the All Blacks have won 22 of their 25 Tests, with just a solitary loss to England and two draws against Australia.
They have taken out the Rugby Championship both times since the competition’s inception and are top of the table again ahead of their Test against Argentina in La Plata in next week’s penultimate round.
“As long as we are honest in our reviews and our systems, and we’re strong enough in our beliefs that we’re challenging ourselves enough, then I don’t believe you have to lose,” Hansen said.
“History tells us you get better when you lose, but why can’t we change history and get better when we win?
“I’m not saying we’re not going to lose. We may well lose a game, or two or three games, but I’d rather not.”
Skipper Richie McCaw said the reality was that players probably tended to look deeper after a defeat.
But the All Blacks prided themselves on focusing on the little things without having to lose.
“Every time we go out there, we want to win and be better than before,” he said.
“Hopefully, we don’t have to go through the pain of losing to learn the lessons that you have to keep learning as you go.”