KEY POINTS:
Media training for backs.
Rule 1: Never talk about a try or tries you've scored without first handing the bulk of the praise to the forwards (particularly the front-rowers).
Rule 2: If pressed on the subject, mutter something about being lucky and then reiterate the importance of
the team's scrummaging prowess.
As far as cliches go, paying homage to the grunts is right up there with "full credit to the opposition" and "thanks to the ladies for the wonderful spread".
The genesis of the time-honoured tradition can probably be found in the need for smaller men to avoid the wrath of big men by not being seen to hog all the credit in what is a team game.
But, like many cliches, it's also a bit of a truism.
Auckland's livewire backs may have blazed brightly in their thus-far undefeated rugby campaign but there's no doubt the platform for the team's success has been laid up front.
Like predecessors of the late '80s and early '90s, this Auckland team are founded on a rock-solid scrum.
Whatever the rotation picked by coach Pat Lam, Auckland have dominated their opponents at scrum time.
With John Afoa, Saimone Taumoepeau, Chris Heard, Nick White and Charlie Faumuina able to slot seamlessly in and out of the line-up, the depth in the union's propping ranks is impressive.
But it hasn't always been that way, particularly in recent years.
In a decade when the odd success pockmarked a fairly consistent run of mediocrity, the bone has more often than not been pointed at Auckland's set piece.
Now, with a specialist front-row academy bearing fruit, the days of back-peddling Auckland packs seem to be over.
Much of the credit for the turnaround has to go to Cantertbury and All Blacks scrum doctor Mike Cron, says Mike Casey, the Cron disciple in charge of Auckland's front-row academy.
"I remember two or three years ago the Auckland Colts going down [to Canterbury] and getting hammered in the scrums," Casey said.
"We talked to [Auckland CEO] Andy Dalton about it and said, 'We need to fix this'.
"Otherwise we were going to be buying in props over the next 10 years. We were not developing them."
A classic case was the Blues' rather desperate recruitment of ageing French test prop Christian Califano in 2002.
But it wasn't just Auckland who struggled to produce quality front-rowers in the sugary early days of Super rugby.
"Back in 1996 Phil Coffin went to South Africa as a 36-year-old because he could play tighthead prop," recalled Casey.
Auckland's props of the future, Afoa and Heard, are 24 and 25 respectively.
"John and Chris and these guys are learning their trade a lot earlier than they used to," Casey said.
"As they get older they will get more mature and get better at their craft. They have got long careers in front of them.
"Look at Carl Hayman, he started to really dominate at 24 or 25 and hasn't looked back.
"But he went through a period earlier in his career where he went through a learning stage.
"That is down to age, size, strength and maturity."
Auckland have cast the net wide in their search for prospective front-rowers.
Faumuina, the 20-year-old New Zealand Colts tighthead, was playing at No 8 just two years ago.
"Those sorts of guys are in Auckland, you've just got to go out and find them," Casey said.
Casey wouldn't be drawn on which combination of props he rated as Auckland's most potent but coach Pat Lam has named Afoa and Taumoepeau to start in the provincial final against Wellington.
If Auckland win tomorrow night, it's a fairly safe bet that the pair's invaluable contribution won't be overlooked in the post-match interviews.
