KEY POINTS:
First impressions are usually on the money. Most aspects of the All Blacks play suggested they knew they were going to win by a wide margin against Canada and were more concerned about getting an injury-free group on to the plane for the Tri-Nations.
So their play looked both restricted and apprehensive before some rhythm returned to their second-half work and they eased out to a 10-tries-to-one victory. It was not the way new lock Ross Filipo imagined his first test as he kept his head down and listened to a glowering Graham Henry lecture at the interval.
"He was obviously not too pleased, we were too inaccurate, so I was rolling with the punches and took a few at halftime," Filipo said.
Recycled skipper Reuben Thorne said there had been no intention of taking it easy against the visitors but he conceded that lack of focus may have been the consequence of their impending departure for South Africa.
He also felt the Canadians had caught his side a "little by surprise" with the rigour of their rugby.
A full house of 25,000 descended on Waikato Stadium in what for most will be their last close-up view of the All Blacks this season.
In the first half they were not rewarded for their loyalty.
The All Blacks struggled to impose their style on a combative Canadian side of amateurs and semi-professionals who showed the sort of clout their more famous predecessors did at the 1991 World Cup when they made the quarter-finals.
The latest edition hustled at the breakdown, they banged bodies, they got up off the ground and tackled, they crowded the All Blacks and forced them into errors.
Four tries for the All Blacks in 40 minutes was moderate booty for all their possession. They had all the fluency of Victoria Beckham's recent ceremonial baseball pitch to open a game.
Turnovers were conceded at a grisly rate, the attack was so lateral that the back three were crowded out of the action. The rearranged loose forward combination with Jerry Collins at No 8 and Chris Masoe at flanker did not gel and Luke McAlister looked equally uneasy at centre.
Forwards coach Steve Hansen defended Masoe's contribution against a statistics sheet which showed the All Blacks conceded half their 20 turnovers at rucks and mauls.
Tests were a step up from the matches involving the Junior All Blacks and it was not fair to compare. Masoe had been asked to cover each loose forward role in the squad and there were not many players of that calibre.
"He has not played a lot of rugby and he got better as the game went on," said Hansen.
So did the All Blacks. They got more direct before they went wide to add six more tries, including a hat-trick for Daniel Carter, after the break.
Sitiveni Sivivatu looked the most dangerous All Black attacker, Rico Gear was sharp too when he entered the fray while Byron Kelleher, Andrew Hore and Collins were good value. The scrum blanked Canada and the makeshift locking pair of Troy Flavell and Filipo coped in the lineouts.
You would not be an All Black lock these days without an injury. Flavell was restricted, early, after dislocating a finger in his left hand and Filipo brushed off a late hamstring niggle.
The All Blacks will use the psychology that a poor dress rehearsal means a strong next showing but it was a forgettable output from the back-up crew.
Canada play the New Zealand under-21 side at Rotorua on Thursday after a performance which encouraged coach Ric Suggitt.
"It's a real tough task for a team that's half amateur, half professional to play against the All Blacks building into the World Cup," he said of the problem which bedevils the international landscape.
"We need more experience at this level.
"To only play one or two games a year like this is really tough, we need 10 games.
"The IRB needs to have a serious look at providing tier-two nations with that kind of opportunity," he said.
"We don't want to stay at home and play against our sister, we want to go out and play against the big boys."
