Tokyo diary: All Blacks bigger than NZ

It's an early start in Tokyo this morning. I'm off to see the the famous fish markets, following the PM around for one more day, including to the All Black test tonight against the Wallabies.

Then it's back to the Ball for breakfast with local Kiwis, a visit to a school and a shrine, another couple of events before kick off at 5.30 pm which will be 9.30 pm NZ time.

The Ball has really been Party Central in Tokyo.

There was a bit of a do there last night to wrap up the Japan New Zealand Partnership Forum.

When I left the Ball last night, the taxi driver saw the ball and asked "Your country New Zealand?"

Hai , I said - meaning yes. "Your country New Zealand? " Hai, I said louder. When he asked a third time, I said "Yes." " All Blacks" I added. He proceeded to take both his hands off the steering wheel and start slapping his thighs vigorously in a haka. Fortunately it lasted no more than two slaps and there was no oncoming traffic.

But it rammed home something one I heard yesterday and that was that the All Blacks brand in Japan was stronger than New Zealand's. I believe it.

I covered the PM 's visit to the National Stadium yesterday where he gave a team talk and watched the Captain's Run. It's the same stadium where Sir Peter Snell won the 800m in 1964. Some sporting afficionado told me that so stunning was the Snell run that on his time, he would have got a silver medal in the Sydney Olympics.

It was a veritable gathering of the who's who of rugby, everyone standing around in the relaxed in the Tokyo autumn sun while the All Blacks did a few exercises and practised the haka. The first person I ran into, and the last person I expected to see was Ken Douglas. I hadn't realized that he is on the board of the Rugby Union.

He hadn't realized I covered rugby!

I got to meet to Graham Henry and he was lovely. Not at all grumpy. He told me what they do on the day of a test match. They usually go to a school gymnasium, have "a bit of a walk through and a bit of a chat" and then the guys go back and have a meal and a bit of a relax for a couple of hours. Then they meet and have a team talk and the hotel, get on the bus and get to the venue about an hour before the game."

That's the pattern and they just count backwards from kick-off to determine when it all starts.

John Key wasn't that keen to talk about the team talk he had given the All Blacks - I'm pretty sure it was because he believed it had gone so well that to talk about it would have sounded like boasting. So he asked Wayne Smith to talk to me about it who said it had been outstanding.

Key spoke at the Press Club. He got questioned on Afghanistan, ACC, the Post Office and the All Blacks.