KEY POINTS:
When the All Blacks returned to their Marseille headquarters by the Mediterranean they could tick off most of the Rugby Commandments they had drawn up for their opening World Cup match.
They were satisfied, they deserved to congratulate each other without being smug about their future in the tournament.
They had made the start the coaching staff, captain Ritchie McCaw and the leadership group demanded with a 76-14 thrashing of Italy.
There were a few beers in the name of rehydration and pleasure at a job well done and thoughts for forwards coach Steve Hansen who returned home after the game to be with his ill mother.
Others will have to take up that slack. But there is enough expertise and knowledge accrued in the camp over the last few years.
Graham Henry will work the lineouts and drills, kick coach Mick Byrne and biomechanist Mark Sayers will look at lifting, Mike Cron will continue with the scrum.
And the leadership group will emphasise to those chosen for the next hitout, against Portugal, that there cannot be a drop in standards from those set at the Stade Velodrome.
The few days in Corsica and the week in Marseille were the hard part for the side making their World Cup start against Italy. They had to contain their excitement until matchday and then channel that enthusiasm.
Before the game McCaw had a wish list. When he reviews that agenda, the All Black skipper will tick most of the topics.
"My job is to compose the side," he said on the eve of the match. "We have talked about it quite a bit during the week. We don't want to run around all over the show." The senior players were the key to that focus. Tick.
The All Blacks, he said, had played together a great deal and he hoped it wouldn't take long for them to get back in the groove.
But there might, he thought, be some rust and they had to eliminate that quickly. Tick.
"There are no real excuses anymore because we have played a lot of rugby together," McCaw opined. "The first thing is to start well and get some confidence. The goal has to be that we are better than we were at the end of the Tri-Nations." Tick.
Discipline would be important at the breakdown especially and in curbing any frustration.
Tick and a cross (after Carl Hayman was sinbinned for clocking an Italian).
"We have got to think about what we can control against a reasonable team like the Italians," McCaw said. Another tick.
