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HONG KONG - Now the spectre of Robbie Deans has retreated to the back of their rugby consciousness, the All Blacks coaching team can divert attention to emulating the successful 2005 Grand Slam of the home unions.
The Bledisloe Cup was only sideline for demonstration purposes at Hong Kong Stadium last night, though the relief was still palpable after the All Blacks gritted their way to a 19-14 victory over Australia.
It was hardly a riveting showcase for the launch of elite 15-a-side internationals in sevens' heaven - not that the players will be losing any sleep on their long haul flight to the UK over a spectacle that never matched its pre-match hype.
For the All Blacks, the fourth Bledisloe was a tricky hurdle overcome - and one negotiated on the back of fractured preparation.
"We were scratchy, we had four or five days to prepare and that makes its difficult especially when you're up against an outfit that's had five weeks - and all they've been thinking about is this test match," admitted assistant coach Steve Hansen before the team flew to Edinburgh via London for Sunday's(NZT) test with Scotland.
"That showed, particularly in the first half - they looked really well organised and put us under pressure - we were the exact opposite."
However, composure and cohesion was rediscovered after halftime as the Wallabies were driven to distraction by referee Alan Lewis and held scoreless.
In a similar scenario to Brisbane last month, the All Blacks finished strongly, this time with tries to Sitiveni Sivivatu and Richie McCaw.
The compressed nature of the tour ensures there has been little time to reflect on a third straight transtasman triumph, Hansen admitting the 13-hour flight north would be a forum for plotting how best to manage their resources.
Rotation, a legacy of the World Cup campaign, will be back in vogue to some extent with head coach Graham Henry adamant no player could be expected to perform at optimum level if selected for three consecutive weekends.
Consistency in selection was a feature of the back end of the Tri-Nations and may be warranted again considering the performance against the Wallabies - after a six-week lay-off was undeniably rusty.
Some combinations would benefit from another outing but with four tests and a midweek clash with Heineken Cup champions Munster, Henry's philosophy will see key players like captain McCaw massaged through the northern spring.
It is unlikely the All Blacks will field completely different starting lineups as they did at Cardiff and Lansdowne Road in 2005 but the team to play Scotland should be radically different from the history makers in Hong Kong.
Hansen nominated Murrayfield as the most likely introduction for some of the six as yet uncapped tourists - though a depleted Munster is also an obvious run around for the new faces between the Irish and Wales tests.
"If we're going to make some changes, this week is probably the logical place to do it."
"We've got big challenges at the end of the tour with Wales and England - we need guys to be mentally fresh as well as physically fresh for those games. Ireland (and Munster) in the middle of it .... people need to understand these guys can't play five tests in a row."
A new hooker is certain to either start or be on the bench against Scotland after Andrew Hore was invalided out of the tour with a badly sprained ankle.
Hikawera Elliot was heading from Hawke's Bay to London to join established hookers Keven Mealamu and Corey Flynn.
Meanwhile, McCaw was confident another Grand Slam - and New Zealand's third after Graham Mourie's pioneering 1978 side - was achievable.
"I think it's quite realistic if you get your planning right. That's certainly the goal but you cut it down to one game at a time. It's the result of doing it right every week from here on."
McCaw rated the All Blacks' schedule as tougher than a World Cup - at least in terms of the calibre of opposition.
"We have played in World Cups where it's six or seven tests but you get a game against a lower ranked team. Here every week we'll have to be on the job."
- NZPA
