Before a shot is fired in anger at this World Cup, we can only assess the form of the teams through what they say, and already differences are developing between the All Blacks and hosts England.
Ma'a Nonu, a late arrival for the All Blacks due to a flu-like illness which kept him in Auckland for an extra 24 hours, today personified his team's attitude when he effectively said he wasn't thinking past lunchtime in terms of his World Cup ambitions.
The All Blacks' embracing of the tournament and their excitement at being here has already been well reported. England, though, ensconced as they are at their luxury base at Pennyhill out of the way in Surrey, are either rising to the challenge or amping themselves up to new levels of anxiety, depending on your point of view.
Steve Hansen's men this morning trained behind a blacked-out fence at their Teddington base - no change there, it's what they usually do when on tour, or even at home during closed sessions. England coach Stuart Lancaster, though, has insisted that his team change their routines and train in similar secrecy because he wants to ensure his players don't prepare for their opener against Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday NZT like a normal test week.
"When you're here you're in a bubble, you're not exposed to the outside world and if you're not careful it could just become another test week," said Lancaster. "I don't want that as it isn't normal. We try and keep it business as usual but we also need to ramp it up at some point as it's not a normal game."
