All Blacks: Ghosts of Cardiff disaster haunt team's preparation

Dan Carter warms up with Conrad Smith during an All Blacks training session at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Photo / Getty Images

For a while, between 2009 and 2012, the All Blacks could come to Cardiff and not think about that night they were here in 2007.

But this time, a few old memories must be surfacing. As much as those who were here with the All Blacks when they lost their quarter-final to France don't want to be reminded, they probably can't help this week but have the odd moment when their thoughts drift back in time.

Next year's World Cup is not front of mind for the All Blacks, but it is not something they are ignoring on this trip either.

It is only 10 months away and the test against Wales is the last the All Blacks will play before they shift into World Cup build-up mode proper, starting in Apia next year. It's not just the proximity, though, that is bringing the World Cup into the equation.

It's also, almost unbelievably, because the All Blacks are going to have to come back to Cardiff next year to play a quarter-final. It won't matter whether they win their pool or come second - they will be in Wales on the weekend of October 15-16 next year.

And the IRB, showing a cruel sense of humour, have set things up so the All Blacks are likely to play either France or Ireland.

This, in itself is eerily similar to 2007, when the stadium in Cardiff was full of Irishmen who had bought tickets before the tournament believing that's where they would end up.

But Argentina stunned everyone by topping the pool and it was France who were dispatched to Wales.

So the exact same scenario could play out - New Zealand could face France in Cardiff, with thousands of Irish in the crowd.

They can't pretend they haven't looked at the draw and worked that out. Of course they have. And it's only natural, then, that those players such as Keven Mealamu, Richie McCaw, Daniel Carter and Conrad Smith as well as coach Steve Hansen who were in Cardiff seven years ago, will have the odd flashback this week.

There will be the odd time when they can't but help compare and contrast their build-up to the coming game with the quarter-final.

The presence of Wayne Barnes as referee this week can only strengthen those memories - all of which is creating a bit of an edge in Cardiff.

The All Blacks tend to give off an easy-to-read vibe. The intensity of their preparation never dips: they are never anything but focused on the task at hand but sometimes the mood can confirm all that and yet be relaxed, confident and eager.

Other times, like the week before the Australian test in Auckland, the players can be intense, clipped, short and quite obviously not in the mood for small talk or banter.

This week feels a little bit like the one in Auckland. There's a ghost of the All Blacks' past floating about; there is, in Wales' New Zealand coach Warren Gatland - a man who likes to verbally prod and spar - a ghost of their present and with thoughts of what lies ahead at the next World Cup, a ghost of their future.

It's a good job this All Black team are not easily spooked.