KEY POINTS:
As the All Blacks journeyed to London yesterday, coach Graham Henry might have toyed with the idea of a detour to Sean Fitzpatrick's manor.
It would not have been to take in the gardens or surroundings near his Surrey gaff but to hear a few words of warning from the most decorated All Black in history, to listen to him talk of the perils of not finishing England off in the final test this weekend.
Fitzpatrick endured two glitches against England at Twickenham, both matches in which the All Blacks were dragged down to the opponents' level and played below the standards they had set earlier on tour.
The first hiccup was in 1993, in a season when the All Blacks beat the Lions in a series, Australia, then Samoa, before they stumbled to their only defeat against England on a 13-game trip to the Northern Hemisphere.
It was a loss Fitzpatrick later likened to spending his summer lying on the beach with a rock under his towel. Four years later a knee gave out on the All Black captain and he had to watch all four tests from the sideline bar a cameo appearance at Wembley against Wales. The team powered on, beating England 25-8 at Old Trafford before falling to a 26-all draw against the same opponents at Twickenham.
It was as good as a loss and turned out to be the only blemish in a 12-test season.
This weekend, England, on the back of successive beatings including their biggest defeat at Twickenham, stand between the All Blacks and their second Grand Slam triumph under Graham Henry. On the evidence of what the tourists have produced and England's struggles, there should be little doubt about the result. Fitzpatrick concurred.
"England were terrible," he told the Herald. "The All Blacks should beat them convincingly."
Fitzpatrick sided with the bulk of coach Martin Johnson's selections, believing he had chosen the best players in the premiership and he hoped they would be picked again this weekend.
All Black coach Henry will do his best to repress the public optimism which will hover over his squad all week as they head for their final appearance in a successful, and at times turbulent, 2008. His teams have won all six of their encounters with England, although they gave his side their toughest test on the last 2005 Grand Slam tour before they were outmanoeuvred 23-19.
The All Blacks have won 12, lost three and had one draw in their last 16 meetings with England including three duels at different World Cups. Eight of those tests have been at Twickenham, seven in New Zealand, while Newlands in Cape Town was the only neutral venue where they have met, in 1995.
Fitzpatrick said the current All Black side was a much better team than the one he led to Britain in 1993 though he conceded his side four years later was an efficient combination when they stumbled to their final test draw.
"A lot has changed with pro rugby now though, these guys are into it all year round and I am sure they will be primed to finish the tour off properly against England."
