All Blacks: Tour De Force

Nonu none the wiser
The All Blacks spent their week in Milan training at the Arena Civico. As training grounds go, this is as good as it gets. The arena was commissioned by Napoleon and, when it opened in 1807, was regularly flooded so that the Italians could re-enact great naval battles.

These days, it is rarely used, which is strange given that it is in immaculate condition and a stunning example of neoclassical architecture. Mussolini was a big admirer of the ground and often gave speeches there whenever he was in Milan - also the city where he was hanged in 1944.

Much of this was of interest to the travelling media pack but didn't quite have the same resonance with the players. After a light session early in the week, Mils Muliaina was heading to the showers and began chatting to some of the media on his way. When told the ground was built by Napoleon, he seemed genuinely interested.

Ma'a Nonu, on the other hand, on hearing such news, made the inquiry: "Napoleon? Who's he?"

Dishing it up
There was great excitement during the week when a handful of All Blacks were invited to be guests on the Italian version of the TV show Next Top Model. For those who don't know, Next Top Model is a reality programme where young ladies attempt to win a modelling contract, with one unfortunate contender being eliminated each week.

The models are asked to take on various assignments - such as being paired with an All Black and cooking dinner.

The lucky All Blacks were Andrew Hore, Andy Ellis, Mils Muliaina, Ma'a Nonu and Anthony Boric.

Graham Henry was asked to judge the food and it was all a big deal for the Italians, who mobbed the place with photographers. Trade and Enterprise New Zealand had played a role in securing the presence of models and they used the evening to showcase the best produce from back home.

Muliaina's oyster dish was judged the best, while Nonu was lucky enough to be partnered with the girl who is hotly tipped to win.

But Hore stole the show as he used the evening to showcase his deadpan wit. It took him all of two seconds to have a bottle of Steinlager in his hand and as he left, he commented: "That was great. I should have started my modelling career years ago."

Magnificent Milano
The Italians know how to do things properly. The magnificent San Siro has some touches of class that are not fully appreciated. The ground on the outskirts of Milan is shared by the city's two clubs - Internazionale and AC Milano. They are two heavyweights of European football and as such have maybe become accustomed to life's finer things.

Each team has their own changing room at the San Siro. The AC Milan room takes some beating. Each player has his own chair recessed into the wall - a chair crafted in the finest Italian leather. On each side of the chair is a mahogany locker and there are state of the art LCD screens all around the room. The centrepiece is a solid granite oval table in the room with the club's crest on top in a painfully crafted tile mosaic.

Mind you, the All Blacks have been treated well. The turf at San Siro was entirely relaid ahead of this morning's test.

Lomu still a big name
The legend of Jonah Lomu shows no signs of diminishing. A few All Blacks were in attendance at the launch of the new Predator boot by team sponsor adidas. The German kit manufacturer also invited some star footballers from some of the clubs it sponsors.

In attendance was Juventus' Diego and Dan Carter. Diego was asked if he knew about the All Blacks. "Oh yes," he replied in his very limited English. And Dan Carter?

"No, no, Jonah Lomu."

When in Rome...
The chances of Graham Henry being offered a job with the Milan tourism board dropped significantly when he announced the All Black team to face Italy.

His opening line was that Rome was his favourite city and he was pretty disappointed to have missed an opportunity to be there.

The good people of Milano loved hearing that.

Good week: Tamati Ellison
Finally, having joined the squad in July, Tamati Ellison earned his first cap this morning. The relief, he said, would be enormous. He also suggested he was prepared for the stress of the game, as nothing would be as bad as keeping the squad happy in his other role as music convener.

Ellison and Anthony Boric are in charge of choosing the music for the team bus and both men have copped grief for their choices - although Ellison thought his choice of a Coldplay mix had won him some breathing space.

Bad week: John Afoa
John Afoa, desperate to start, had to endure more time on the bench against Italy. He was clearly gutted by the announcement and Graham Henry spent a few minutes consoling the big prop at training. "He's got a few things to work on," Henry said later of Afoa. "A big part of his job is scrummaging... and he has a few issues there."