David Leggat: Private haka marks All Blacks' mood

At last, a real test.

And more than a whiff of gunpowder in the air for tonight's Tri-Nations set-to against the Springboks. Ah, yes, back to the good old days of stoushes with our historically toughest opponent.

A curious thing happened yesterday at the end of the All Blacks' training session.

The players did a haka.

Now the haka has become commonplace, which I'm certain wasn't the original idea.

They seem to pop up at the drop of a hat whenever someone thinks 'let's do a haka to inspire/commemorate/honour him/her/them'.

It unquestionably has a place in the New Zealand soul. But sometimes that soul pops up in the most unlikely places. Anyway, this was different. It wasn't done in front of the cameras.

Rather it was out of public view, obscured by a grandstand at Carisbrook, and was, as Herald chief rugby writer Wynne Gray notes today, "an affirmation of their spirit, their bond and their mood".

In other words, the All Blacks are right up for it tonight. They will need to be as the South Africans have grown in confidence and belief as they have put together a four-test winning streak against Australia and New Zealand.

Throw in the standard pre-match verbal skirmishing this week - most of which, it should be said, having come attached to Kiwi accents - and the stage is set for a decent ding dong. A contest with real feeling.

Springbok coach Jake White has been quiet this week, but yesterday came out with a slightly Freudian touch.

He was asked his thoughts on what has become the old chestnut of his players repeatedly breaking the offside line and getting away with it.

"When you border on the offside line you also border on the onside line. We just border on the onside line," he said. Very clever. The first part is true; the second open to debate.

Big rugby confrontations, where there are often small margins in pure footballing terms between the teams, are frequently decided by who can push the boundaries.

The All Blacks might moan and groan at what Schalk Burger and co have been allowed to do, or feel that the likes of Jacque Fourie and Jean de Villiers have been in the vanguard of a too quick to be true rushing defensive midfield line. In their eyes it might seem to be infringing.

But these days that's a fact of sporting life at the top, and not just in rugby.

On the international rugby field, as depressing as it might sound, it's what you get away with that counts.

Which leads to a small apology. Tonight's referee, Joel Jutge, of France, was in charge of the opening Lions test in Christchurch in June.

In this space that morning, someone opined that a few hours later, one of the two coaches, Graham Henry or Sir Clive Woodward, would be grumpy about Jutge's control of the test. He loomed as a pivotal figure.

As it happened, hats off to M. Jutge, who was rarely seen on a filthy night. There were no gripes.

That took some doing and although his reputation is for occasionally coming up with unfathomable decisions, he's not alone there. So, pardon monsieur.

Considering we've had to listen to the unlistenable Tony Spreadbury, who simply wouldn't shut up in Sydney, or Alain Rolland, who appeared to lose the plot in Perth last weekend, a touch of the Gallic should at least be light relief.

And you can be sure there'll be precious little else of that commodity tonight.

* As the most exhilarating Ashes series in memory speeds towards its denouement over the next fortnight, it's time for a beef.

What is it with commentators referring to bowlers operating to an "international length" or bowling "back of a length"? It's all tosh.

For generations, it has been called short of a length. Why the change?

Probably because someone important started it and the rest of the talking heads have merely followed suit.

In the 1980s, England had a fine seamer called Mike Hendrick, noted for his accurate and demanding length.

On one occasion, Hendrick had bowled superbly in a test innings. International length, you might say. Also wicketless.

Then Ian Botham stepped up and bagged five wickets with a mix of long hops, full tosses and half volleys.