KEY POINTS:
When loosehead prop Tony Woodcock declares a win against England would deliver a "good" season rating for the All Blacks, that is pretty high praise.
Woodcock is old-school, frontrow, a man of restrained public expression. Someone who would prefer to use one word instead of four and never overstates his credentials. So for "good" read something else in a season which would stand at 13 wins from 15.
But for an ongoing problem with his left foot, Woodcock might have sneaked in another test this year, instead he will be left to ponder his 49 caps as he goes about family duties, holiday and some work on his Kaukapakapa property.
At one stage it seemed Woodcock would be struggling to play again after Ireland where he copped a knee in the back.
"I couldn't use my right leg, could not put any weight on it," Woodcock recalled.
Then there was the small matter of being cited after that test after he had retaliated and punched a rival forward. Dead leg and all, he had to make a detour to Dublin and front the judicial hearing, where he was cleared, instead of flying to Cardiff.
"I was pretty disappointed with what I did, it was not ideal but it was retaliation. I wish I had not done it, I wish I had walked away from it," he said.
A couple of days after the historic Irish test, the All Blacks' first visit to Croke Park, Woodcock was able to resume training without any discomfort and felt no further problems against Wales last weekend.
Now there is one more test against England, a side with a strong scrum though they will be without their man-mountain loosehead Andrew Sheridan who has a neck injury.
Woodcock will pit his skills and bulk against Phil Vickery, a former England captain with plenty of experience.
All Black scrum coach Mike Cron liked the way the scrum dealt with Wales and thought the set-piece was just starting to simmer nicely. Woodcock concurred.
"Obviously there has been an improvement throughout. We have been getting better slowly and that is pleasing because we have put a lot of emphasis on it," Woodcock said. "We do a lot of work on it, sometimes it pays off and other times it doesn't. But I think it has improved, especially in the last half of that test against Wales where we really got some dominance and took the sting out of them."
After the early injury to hooker Andrew Hore, who had started every test this year, the All Black tourists had to readjust to Keven Mealamu being in the middle of the frontrow. That harmony and timing quickly returned.
Woodcock knocks the scales out to 120kg in his best racing strip, although he does not look that heavy. He is very solid with no spare flesh and has been told by a number of observers his bulk is deceptive. Asked if he was in really good shape, the loosehead rerouted the question.
He was looking forward to getting back on the farm while also hoping time away from rugby training would allow him to get over the nagging damage to the joint on his foot. Others like Jamie Mackintosh and Anthony Boric had similar problems but had come right.
Come January, Woodcock will resume rugby training and while he enjoys his farmwork, he reckons playing sport is a great way to earn his wages.
"It has been a good season for the All Blacks. This weekend will determine a lot of things.We are very determined to finish well and if we do then that will be a great satisfaction," he said.
