KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks have defended what appears to be a disjointed preparation in wet Wellington for Saturday's Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney.
While the Wallabies have soaked up the hype in the test city all week, their New Zealand counterparts have hunkered down, largely immune from the atmosphere and continuing to get rained on.
They were forced indoors for most of yesterday's training session because their intended pitch was soaked.
And today's scheduled session before they fly out to Sydney has been cancelled, leaving the All Blacks with seemingly a very light workload and with little chance to introduce recalled flanker Daniel Braid to the physical nuts and bolts of the All Blacks pattern.
"The weather hasn't been that flash but it's helped the boys get used to a slippery ball," Captain Rodney So'oialo said, perhaps anticipating wet or muggy conditions on match night.
"I don't think it matters too much. It's the mental side of it that matters."
New Zealand coach Graham Henry said the decision to remain in Wellington was made last year, well before they were even reappointed as coaches.
He indicated it was also player-driven, with a collective desire that time spent overseas during the Tri-Nations be reduced if possible.
The nine-test tournament is sandwiched between the travel-heavy rigours of the Super 14 and the year-ending tour.
"The travel is something that's grown in the last few years," So'oialo said.
"So the coaches have focused on what really matters to the players and that's time with their families. It's good for the boys' minds too, it gets their minds off fulltime rugby.
"Travelling later in the week is a good thing. It's not a big trip, we'll see how we go this weekend."
Building up for tests in separate cities has become commonplace in international rugby, with the All Blacks sporadically doing it under Henry, particularly when they play in South Africa.
It started before him, however, with predecessor John Mitchell basing his 2003 World Cup campaign in Melbourne and taking his team to other venues two days out.
Critics believe that tactic backfired in their World Cup semifinal loss to the Wallabies in Sydney, pointing out the hosts were at fever pitch by kickoff after spending a week in what had become a rugby-crazed city while the All Blacks were miles away in a place where rugby barely registered.
First five-eighth Daniel Carter didn't think being in the test city mattered greatly and believed his team would get a good enough taste of the growing excitement across the Tasman after touching down today.
"The atmosphere builds a day or a couple of days out from the game so we'll get a feel for that on Saturday morning and Friday in Sydney," Carter said.
The out-of-town approach has had a share of success stories, notably the 45-6 defeat of France in Paris in 2004. That performance, still regarded as the finest under Henry, was achieved after a preparation based mostly in Cardiff.
Carter agreed with the concept of letting players spend time with those closest to them.
"It's great to be in your own country. Obviously for the guys here in Wellington, they're loving it being at home," he said.
"You can't control the weather, unfortunately, but we've got to adjust to it.
"We're professional enough to adapt to the conditions, no matter what they may be."
- NZPA
