KEY POINTS:
After 22 minutes of Friday night's test, it wasn't just Kiwis coaches Stephen Kearney and Wayne Bennett who would have been squirming in their seats.
World Cup organisers would also have shifted rather uncomfortably.
About A$20 million will be spent staging the first world tournament since 2000 and
while organisers are confident of producing a profit, a competitive New Zealand side is a prerequisite to capture the attention of the Australian public.
Many felt little had changed on Friday night from the 58-0 drubbing handed out by Australia in Wellington last October. A headline in yesterday morning's Sydney Morning Herald proclaimed: 'Australia so far ahead that only an act of God, or Suzie, can stop them.'
Australians have every right to feel this way. They have a stupendously good side and equally good players itching for a chance. They have cast all aside since being beaten by New Zealand 24-0 in the 2005 Tri Nations final.
And the Kiwis have considerable ground to make up from where they were two years ago when they took Australia to golden-point extra-time in the 2006 Tri Nations.
A common refrain out of the Kiwis camp on Friday night was their final 58 minutes were encouraging. They won this period 12-6 but that couldn't hide the fact they were well beaten.
"I was encouraged by the last 60 minutes," Kearney said.
"It was a step in the right direction but there's no hiding the fact we have a lot of work to do. We are not out there to make the numbers up [at the World Cup]. We are going out there to be competitive."
There's a belief New Zealand teams wilt in the final 20 minutes of matches. Ironically, this time it was the first 20.
"It's still 20 minutes we have to fix up," said prop Nathan Cayless.
Goal-line defence, which was woefully inadequate in the opening minutes, can be addressed, as it is an attitudinal issue more than anything.
Deficiencies in the halves, however, are more difficult to fix.
Thomas Leuluai has been told by Kearney that he's likely to enjoy a period of prolonged time in the halfback's jersey. Kearney believes the Wigan half hasn't been given as much time as he deserves but it's difficult to see what more he can offer.
He struggled on tour last year in the UK before being dropped for the third test against Great Britain and he seemed to struggle with the speed of the Australians. He also lacks finesse in his kicking game, crucial in his position. But one thing on his side is there are few alternatives.
Lance Hohaia also battled in the kicking department on Friday night but he is unlikely to be wearing the No 6 at the World Cup.
Benji Marshall and Ben Roberts rate ahead of him. Too often on Friday, kicks missed their mark, were too short and often followed by a penalty that gifted Australia the initiative.
The Kiwis were missing as many as four first-choice players. A fit-again and firing Marshall would be a certainty, as would Krisnan Inu, and Kearney would surely include Jerome Ropati and Manu Vatuvei.
They would add flair and, in Vatuvei's case, more muscle on the wing but it's inevitable key men would be injured at World Cup time.
Out wide was another area where Australia significantly outpointed the Kiwis. Wingers Greg Inglis and Israel Folau are exceptional, as Inglis showed for Australia's first try, but Sam Perrett should have dealt to them. Perrett and Jason Nightingale were busy on attack, in keeping with the gameplan of scooting out of dummyhalf.
The Kiwis profited from this approach and it's a tactic they'll likely persevere with, especially spreading the ball wider for the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, Frank Pritchard, Iosia Soliola and Setaimata Sa.
One of the most encouraging aspects was seeing Australia scramble in defence in the second spell, slow the play-the-ball down and give away cheap penalties in order to regroup. However their goal-line defence is something Kearney can only dream of.
"It's an overall mentality," Kearney said of his main area of concern. "It's understanding that if we match it with them in the arm wrestle we can match it with anybody.
"But if we give cheap ball over and field position, they are going to put us under pressure. It's the idea that we need to compete at a level where we are turning it into an arm wrestle. We have some flashy players but if we compete set-for-set we are as competitive as any team."
Kearney is known for his meticulous approach and even before the players headed back to the team hotel, the video analyst was already cutting CDs for them.
"I think it's important we give guys feedback from the game and areas they need to improve," Kearney said.
A lot of improvement's needed to seriously threaten Australia but at least it's more cosmetic than the major surgery needed after last year.
