KEY POINTS:
To keep his body in shape as he's undergone his lengthy rehabilitation, Keith Robinson swapped his rugby boots for boxing gloves.
If the Romanians weren't already nervous about facing the All Blacks, that piece of news should serve as an ominous warning: the Waikato lock's World Cup is
just getting under way and he's not here to take prisoners.
"You've got to do something for fitness and boxing is a good way to get the heart rate up," he said on the eve of the team announcement, swearing that he's just been using pads and no "live" opponents. When he makes it on to the field this weekend there'll finally be some moving targets to hit (in perfectly legitimate tackles, of course).
Unless he is struck down by another injury curse - having managed just 10 caps since making his debut for the All Blacks against England in 2002 - the Waikato lock will get one last chance to put pressure on the selectors to start him in next weekend's quarter-final.
Understandably, Robinson is not looking that far ahead. Asked if he had enough time to earn a spot he said: "I don't know. I'll just go out and play Romania and see what happens."
The fact he's still here says something about his determination to wear black and the selectors' determination to keep him in the squad. He tore his calf in training before the opener against Italy in Marseille and when that started to heal he "blew it out again" before the second match.
Then followed a "frustrating" process of slowly conditioning the calf until it was able to be run on again. There was no magic cure.
"It's not about thrashing it every day, it's about taking small steps each day. Yesterday for example we did some cleaning out of the rucks and driving through the tackle while pushing off the calf, a bit of scrum stuff and some running intervals at 90 per cent."
It's not about spending the rest of the time on a physio's table either.
"There's not a lot you can do. You've got to give it a couple of days rest for a start. You've got to get George [Duncan, massage therapist] to massage it. With George I spend half an hour every two days on it and it makes all the difference," the 30-year-old said.
He also got by with a little help from his friends. The All Blacks enjoyed a couple of days off in the south of France but not everyone took that opportunity.
"We've had a couple of guys come down in the last couple of days who've helped me out, holding shields for me, scrumming and doing bits and pieces."
Prop Greg Somerville, hooker Andrew Hore and physio Pete Gallagher to be precise.
"You appreciate it all right. They could be off doing other things but they came along to try to help me out. It's the environment.
"I'd do the same for them."
The fact he was under no enforced "deadline" to get fit helped too, though Robinson admitted he thought his World Cup was over when his calf went the second time.
"I had a day of that. But you always do after you have an injury. You think it's the end of the world."
Robinson is renowned for his ability to come back and play at a high level straight away - something he puts down purely to aerobic fitness and a desire to play for his country.
It helps that he's a bit of a student of the game too, his specialty being studying opposition lineouts and passing on his knowledge to the forwards.
He's spent an hour watching video of the Romanian lineout. That will come in handy, but if he boxes clever, you know Robinson's got his eyes on the tournament heavyweights.
