Photos: All Blacks training sessionKEY POINTS:
When the All Blacks turn out tomorrow against Ireland, it will snap a 245-day hiatus in which controversy and uncertainty have cloaked the national sport.
Financial pressures, player exits, faltering competition structures, erratic crowd and television viewerships, a sceptical fourth estate, coaching and administrative blotches, new playing laws - there's not been a dull moment since the All Blacks went belly up in Cardiff last October.
Even this week in Wellington much of the chatter has been about the latest edition in the Carter Clause, fans' divided loyalties, law revision, contracts, deals and not a massive amount about the test.
The reappointed All Black panel has been unable to stem any of the debate, inactive in preparing another test team until this week. The unrelenting fallout from the World Cup has taken its toll and they have been unable to stem the effects.
This opening international tomorrow becomes more than just the start of another year. It holds all sorts of significance for Graham Henry, Wayne Smith, Steve Hansen and Co.
Victory will not be a balm for all the discontent but it will be an important beginning.
It will not reduce the forgiveness levels by much but it should create some diversion from the rancour and ill-feeling.
The players have had the chance to burn off some frustration in the Super 14, they have been back working their trade for the past four months.
So have the All Blacks coaches, but they have only been doing one segment of their portfolio until this week. They have been observers, analysts, planners and strategists until they got their coaching kit back on.
The last stage is seeing their side back in action and creating a necessary victory.
Anything less against a nation which has drawn once and lost every other international against the All Blacks in their 103-year history will be disastrous.
Ireland fancy their chances too, although the splitting of the favoured midfield with the injury exit of young Luke Fitzgerald may open up a defensive channel that Ma'a Nonu will favour more.
Ireland have come close in recent times and that continual failure must eat away at their conviction, no matter how much they protest otherwise.
They should have beaten the All Blacks in 1992 in Dunedin when they lost 24-21, while in 2001, on Richie McCaw's player-of-the-day debut at Lansdowne Rd, the All Blacks needed several late converted tries to roll home 40-29.
There was an equally tight 15-6 call the next season when the All Blacks won at Carisbrook and then two close encounters in New Zealand two years ago.
Ireland are a united side, a team carrying the Munster winners from the recent Heineken Cup triumph, Magner's Cup celebrants and English premiership victors.
They feel they have regained the momentum that expired in an even worse World Cup than the All Blacks, then a moderate Six Nations.
They think they might catch the All Blacks a little cold because of their new players and a lack of preparation, though captain Brian O'Driscoll warned that the depth of players in New Zealand still ran fairly deep.
"There is not that much pressure on us, not a huge level of expectation," he said.
"We have never beaten the All Blacks, so people will ask why is this the time?"
There was no problem getting up for this test after an 11-month-long slog, the players were experienced enough to know how to deal with adversity and wanted to transfer the Munster mentality to the national jersey.
