KEY POINTS:
A review of the Kiwis' record under new coach Stephen Kearney raises the question of what progress has been made since he took over the reins.
The easy answer is "not much". They were walloped 28-12 in the Centenary test, out of the game early after allowing the Kangaroos some soft tries. They were beaten 30-6 in the World Cup opener.
Victories have come over NZ Maori and Tonga in trial games and PNG in their second game of the 2008 Cup tournament - but so they should have.
The first real test comes tomorrow when the Kiwis face an England side that was beaten by more than the Kiwis were by Australia. England should recover, and the game promises to be an even contest.
In fairness to this coach and others before him, he has yet to have the best possible New Zealand side on the paddock, due to club commitments and injury.
If this team included the usual captain Roy Asotasi, along with Sonny Bill Williams, Frank Pritchard, Jeff Lima and Brent Webb, the Aussies would be worried.
Crucially, there is improvement in the areas where improvement was most needed, both in terms of personnel and performance, and Kearney's approach to the tournament has been to look longer-term and use it as a chance to blood new talent.
It's not so long ago the Kiwis routinely struggled to find a fullback and regularly played someone out of position. Matthew Ridge dominated there, likewise with Stacey Jones at halfback. When they retired, there was no replacement, let alone others also pushing the obvious heir to make sure he stayed on form.
Now there is Krisnan Inu, Sam Perrett and this weekend's fullback Lance Hohaia all capable of holding down the number one jersey.
At hooker there is Isaac Luke who is being brought in gradually - Kearney may have been tempted to rush him up to starter after the loss to the Kangaroos but instead he comes off the bench.
The coach is sticking with his halves combination of Thomas Leuluai and Benji Marshall, both just 23, because he believes he will get better out of them than they have delivered so far.
Much of the problem for the halves has been that the forwards have not created go-forward for them.
The playmaker role, though, remains open, with no one as yet standing up to grab it.
"I'm not set firmly on who I'm going to have in what position there. It gives us an opportunity this weekend to have a good look at it," Kearney said.
Likewise he has shuffled the forward pack and switched wings so he can both see what others have to offer, keep them interested and involved and so build depth and commitment to the cause.
Kearney was the Kiwis' youngest-ever captain and his total of 45 tests from 1993-2004 is bettered only by Ruben Wiki who leads with 55 and halfbacks Jones and Gary Freeman, both on 46.
As a player, he was known for thorough preparation and he has tried to transfer that facet to his coaching career.
So far, the preparation has been good but it has not changed results.
"People have been questioning us since we played Australia. You have to remember the circumstances," he said, referring to the injury withdrawals.
In the Centenary test, the Kiwis recovered in the second half to out-score Australia 12-6, giving Kearney and mentor Wayne Bennett hope they could put themselves in a position to press for victory in the next meeting provided they started well.
They didn't start well.
They had prepared well. Kearney has not been able to pinpoint why they did not carry that through.
Both England and the Kiwis are sure to make the semifinals next weekend regardless of who wins this game. Winning has not been emphasised.
"I'm of the school that says there is no 'must win'. The important thing for me now is that we prepare well and play well. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance."
Many people rank the NRL ahead of Super League in terms of speed and skill. Not Kearney, who played in both.
"They have plenty of danger men. They get good gain from Jamie Peacock and [Adrian] Morley of course, and James Graham does a lot of work for them even though he's a young kid. Rob Burrow, [Leon] Pryce and [Danny] McGuire are all strong out of dummy-half and they have seasoned players like [Paul] Wellens and [Keith] Senior at the back - oh yeah, they're much stronger than people give them credit for. I know a lot of their players well, they have strikepower in key positions."
If there is an area where the Kiwis might have the advantage it is in defence, where the NRL is undoubtedly tougher due to the effort put into that area. "I think [England] will adopt an NRL-style defence," Kearney said.
That means a slower game and that may favour the Kiwis.
The coach has studied and analysed tapes of the Leeds-St Helens encounters this year since those two clubs provide the bulk of the England squad, and he's watched the England-France and England-Wales games, in which his opposite Tony Smith plotted their tournament build-up.
"There's enough there," he said, after picking out areas to press in attack as well as warning his players about the opposition strengths.
He is concerned about a backlash from England after their trouncing by Australia. "I know they'll be hurting, I'm expecting them to come out with their very best performance."
He doesn't want anything less. He wants his team tested, pushed. He wants the players to learn.
Kearney doesn't want to lose tomorrow but acknowledges that sometimes you learn more that way - as a coach or player. What he doesn't want, Kearney says, is to keep on losing.
The Kiwis have a long way to go to match Australia, he knows, but that is about depth rather than ability. And he's working on that.
The Australians have rested captain Darren Lockyer who has a bruised bicep, fullback Billy Slater and prop Petero Civoniceva who are also carrying niggling injuries ahead of their final pool game against Papua New Guinea this weekend.
Replacements are Terry Campese at five-eighth for Lockyer, Anthony Watmough in the pack and Karmichael Hunt from the bench to fullback for Slater, with wing David Williams brought into the squad.
PNG have lost Hull winger Makali Aizue, suspended for one game for a grapple tackle on Kiwi Sam Perrett.
