The All Blacks will be heading into an interesting foreign environment when they arrive on their northern tour - the stoush over the future of club rugby in Europe.

John Kirwan comes across with such relentless positivity that it's easy to see the good things about Ma'a Nonu's return to the Blues, but even he must know his about-turn on the wandering midfielder comes with big risks.

The ABs have equalled their record of 30 consecutive home wins, while the Wallabies managed to score their highest number of points in NZ, writes Tracey Nelson.

Thirty tests and counting, the All Blacks' winning streak at home will take some beating. Can England do it next year?

It's probably not too much of a stretch to suggest this is the most important match of Jeremy Thrush's career, writes Patrick McKendry.

Love him or loathe him - and it seems the majority of NZers are polarised to that extent - Sonny Bill Williams' talents belong on the world stage, writes Patrick McKendry.

Backgammon is a game of chance and a game of strategy. The rugby scrum has become the same, writes Scotty Stevenson.

Former England international Stuart Barnes says referees are intimidated by the All Blacks. Is he correct? Rugby editor Gregor Paul says only half the time.

By not playing last week against Argentina, Owen Franks provided a sharp reminder of how valuable he has become for the All Blacks.

There is a battle brewing for the All Blacks' No6 jersey but the selection for Saturday will be a relatively easy one.

Has there ever been such a controversial Auckland lock as Ali Williams? And has the city's place as the home of the great locks in world rugby come to an end?

While his Wallaby side went through their usual parabolic form graph, Deans ploughed on. He had a job to do, writes Wynne Gray.

They have the award that counts - a Super Rugby trophy - but the Chiefs and their coach Dave Rennie failed to win over the New Zealand Rugby Awards judges.

Wynne Gray: For the first time this season the All Blacks felt the cold fear of failure.

The poor old International Rugby Board - they just can't get anything right at the moment.

Tracey Nelson crunches the numbers from the All Blacks' 42-10 win over Italy and finds Kieran Read was the top ball carrier.

The Wellington wind blows in yet another in a long list of talented and enterprising players - Cory Jane.

Jumble up the team, slap 50 points past Scotland and work on your next strategy.

The All Blacks versus Scotland is haggis dressed up as ham. The rugby community gather forces and pretend there is something historically beautiful about the match-up.