All blacks fans meet and greet outside Adidas New Market.
There's never been any doubt that Kieran Read has a lump of granite inside him. The man is tough to the core, resilient, driven and exactly the sort of square-jawed hero comic books would depict as the All Blacks captain.
And mostly, these are the key requirements of the job he now holds. Captaincy, for the All Blacks at least, is 90 per cent about performance. It is about being able to inspire others with relentless excellence.
The core component of the job is to be the best player and tied in with that, to be the hardest worker.
It is about leading with action - the right sort of action and in this, Read has been on track since he came of age in 2010.
That was the year he made everyone realise that he was destined for greatness. His breakthrough moment came in the first two rounds of the Tri Nations when the All Blacks played South Africa first in Auckland then Wellington.
The Boks arrived with the vaunted Pierre Spies at No 8. A cracking specimen of a man, all definition and renowned for his heroics in the gym.
Read celebrates a try against South Africa in 2010. Photo / Greg Bowker
Read destroyed him in those two tests. Spies brought muscles but Read brought strength. Spies brought a reputation, Read destroyed it and made his own.
There was such venom in Read's tackling and carrying that he truly did give the impression he could run through brick walls.
He certainly ran through Spies, more than once and anyone who really knew their rugby could see that Read was the sort of player who would make sure he was always counted. He would never go missing.
And it has been like that ever since with Read, who by the end of that year established himself as the best No 8 in world rugby. Contenders kept emerging, thinking they would usurp him.
There was Wycliff Palu, Scott Higginbotham, Sergio Parisse, Louis Picamoles, Jamie Heaslip, Billy Vunipola and Taulupe Faletau. They have all tried but failed to be the same influence as Read.
Read during the 2nd test match between the All Blacks and the British & Irish Lions. Photo / Brett Phibbs
They don't have the same range; that same ability to be bruising yet creative. Duane Vermeulen is the only No 8 in the last few years who has come close to matching Read in overall influence, but he hasn't been able to get himself on the park enough in the last three years.
And that highlights another of Read's qualities - his longevity. It would seem that avoiding injury is all about luck, but it's mostly not.
Kieran Read and Richie McCaw check out their 2015 Rugby World Cup winners medals. Photo / Brett Phibbs
In 10 years Read has barely been injured - much like Richie McCaw. That's because Read dedicates himself to the micro as as well as the macro requirements. His physical preparation is detailed, punishing and total. How else could he miss eight weeks of rugby with a broken thumb and then return straight into test football and deliver a huge performance against the Lions in the first test.
As much as that showed the depth of his character to dig out 75 minutes when his lungs would have been sucking in fire, it also confirmed how meticulous and committed he had been during his rehabilitation.
His drive, resilience, dedication and vast array of skills have all combined to bring him to the verge of his 100th test cap and entry into an elite club.
But just as he is arriving at one landmark, so too are other challenges moving into his path. While he has most of his job requirements locked down, there are some areas he still needs to prove himself.
Read in action against France during the final of the RWC 2011. Photo / Richard Robinson
There are some small, but significant questions that will need to be answered as he finds himself now at the helm of an All Blacks side that suddenly looks dramatically shorn of experience to play the biggest test at Eden Park since the 2011 World Cup final.
This new look All Blacks side is young, vibrant, talented, hugely exciting but many of them are devoid of big game knowledge and Read's captaincy will be tested on two fronts.
The first is finding a way to guide them through the maelstrom of a series decider in a stadium that will feel like a little pocket of Britain and Ireland. Can he connect with all those around him? Can he find the calming words to keep his young team task focused and disciplined?
What makes his senior players believe he can is that Read's great gift as a captain is his inclusivity and ability to relate to Rieko Ioane as well as he can Owen Franks.
"He obviously has big shoes to fill...the previous captain was a pretty good one," says All Blacks teammate Aaron Cruden.
"The thing that the boys really admire about Reado is that he has made that role his own. He hasn't tried to be anyone else. He knows exactly who he is and what he stands for and you can see that in the way he plays and conducts himself around the environment.
"From a leader, that is exactly what you want. You want a guy who is going to put his body on the line and lift the standards."
Read making a break during the second rugby test played at Westpac Stadium, Wellington in 2009. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The second hurdle for Read will be to find a way to manage match referee Romain Poite. Read has 90 per cent of his job nailed down but the missing piece perhaps is that magical gift of building a strong enough rapport with officials to limit their influence.
It was an art that McCaw took some time to master and one that Read will be wary of staying on top of.
Read might feel in hindsight that referee Jerome Garces closed himself off and became a little hurried to make decisions. Perhaps Read could have said more, done more, to express the All Blacks' frustration at the stream of penalties conceded by the Lions.
Read gets a pass to Richie McCaw during the Rugby World Cup 2011 Quarter Final. Photo / Dean Purcell
It's a difficult skill. Say too much and it runs the risk of putting the referee's back up, don't say enough and the game can flow in an undesirable direction.
It's especially difficult for an All Blacks captain to know where the line is. Individual referees will have different views on whether the captain of the world's best team should be paid due respect or kept at arm's length to prevent any sense of favouritism.
Given the increasing speed and intensity of test rugby is continually pressuring the inadequacy of the rules, managing referees will remain a significant part of Read's job.
