They might not be the top ranked team in the world at the start of the tournament, but the All Blacks won't have to wait long for a chance to prove they're still the team to beat at the Rugby World Cup.
Meeting fellow contenders South Africa in the opening round of pool play, there won't be any chance of showing up and easing their way into form. Instead, they'll start their campaign with what should be the game that decides who wins their pool, with Canada, Namibia and Italy rounding out the group.
"It is what it is," All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said of the draw. "I think if you look at every country they've got a draw that is going to have some peaks and troughs.
"For us, we love it. Coming in and playing South Africa first, the challenge is there right in front of us isn't it? There's no way that anyone is going to drift into this game, so it's going to set the World Cup for us really strongly. We know we've got to get over there and be at our best straight away, then after that we'll just see what happens in that game and modify things."
The All Blacks were set to fly out for Japan this morning, and will have the best part of two weeks to acclimatise themselves to what are expected to be hot conditions before trotting out onto the park against South Africa on September 21.