All Blacks 85 Romania 8
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In a week of injury negatives the All Blacks took one more major positive last night with the successful return of Keith Robinson.
The big lock safely negotiated the warm-up - always a tricky business for Robinson - and once all present and correct out on the field, snarled and smashed his way through an impressive 55 minutes.
There were a couple of over-eager moments in the early exchanges - a knock-on and a missed tackle - but come the first lineout, there was no nonsense.
Robinson called himself, took one step forward and up he went, straight, fast and smooth, ball in his mitts and a blink later Andy Ellis was feeding the backline.
The next lineout, ditto, and in just two efficient movements Robinson had justified the patience the selectors have shown in him.
Robinson's rivals for the locking roles, Ali Williams and Chris Jack, are more athletic, more mobile athletes with spring heels. They can often be found on the wing, floating in hopeful anticipation of a cross-kick, or chugging about in the midfield looking for some unsuspecting weed to run over.
But not Robbo. His work is done in the dark places, never far from the collision. No doubt the inevitable blast coach Graham Henry fired off in the wake of a sloppy performance at Murrayfield was a factor in the tighter work produced by the pack yesterday.
The real catalyst was the presence of Robinson, though. It was his clean take from a 5m lineout which set up the platform for a cohesive drive which was the launch-pad for Joe Rokocoko's first try.
And seeing Robinson stand like a rock, with the black jerseys being sucked towards him, provided a possible look into the future.
The lineout has been a perennial weakness for the All Blacks from the earliest days of the Henry reign.
It is the one area where serious contenders feel they can target the All Blacks and profit. The catch and drive has not been part of the All Black armoury in recent seasons.
Could the All Black coaches be about to pull a sneaky one and play Robinson this week with a view to working more ploys off the lineout?
With doubts about Dan Carter's fitness there could be some backline shuffling for the quarter-final. Maybe the forwards need to take control, win the ball and take on greater responsibility for building momentum.
There were certainly hints against Romania of what might be about to come. There was heavy traffic running off the inside shoulder of the first and second receivers. When players broke the line, there was more composure than in previous weeks - it was head up and assess rather than chuck and hope.
It was obvious there had been talk about cutting out the 50-50 pass. McAlister early in the game twice thought about sneaking a pass out the backdoor only to check himself and finally present on the ground.
There was also a noticeable quickening of tempo. McAlister was often tight to the advantage line, looking to bring Isaia Toeava down the middle, take the hit, set up and move on again attacking the same way.
What impressed at times was the speed at which the forwards made the breakdown and their clinical work at the cleanout.
Quick ball is gold dust in test football and this All Black side have always been at their most threatening when they indulge in the guerrilla tactics of hit and run.
That way, they can display their skills - the power of Jerry Collins, the acceleration of Nick Evans, the off-loading of some forwards.
It was only at times, though, and there is still much to work on. Their work at the base of the scrum was erratic. Some of the handling was sloppy and twice the back three let high kicks bounce.
Some of the casualness, the drifting in and out of concentration, might be a result of the opposition - the knowledge that they can win even with major lapses in execution.
Whatever the cause, the problem has to be fixed. And fixed this week.
New Zealand 85 (S. Sivivatu (2), C. Masoe, J. Rokocoko (3), N. Evans, A. Mauger, I. Toeava (2), A. Hore, C. Smith, D. Howlett tries; L. McAlister 4 cons, Evans 6 cons) Romania 8 (M. Tincu try, F. Vlaicu pen). Ht: 36-5
