The IRB have chosen to fight a war they cannot win on the eligibility front. They can't win their battle to stop players exploiting an unforeseen loophole to switch their allegiance.
Another All Blacks opponent, another team getting to grips with the crucial No 10 position.
On a night they will become the equal longest-serving midfield pairing, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith could do with reminding the world they are still also the best.
Just as players have been made aware of the different sides to Steve Hansen, referees discovered yesterday that the All Black coach can be as cuddly as he is prickly.
With rain forecast in Wellington for a tough test between the All Blacks and Springboks, Australia looms as the team to exploit in the latest round of Dream Team Fantasy Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks have a higher winning percentage in the professional age against the Springboks than they do the Wallabies and yet it is the Boks who are viewed as the ultimate foe.
Members of the legendary 1996 squad responsible for the All Blacks' first series win in South Africa say the rivalry with the Boks is still strong but pick the winning streak to continue at Wellington's Cake Tin on Saturday.
Having seen off Argentina's pack, one of the biggest in international rugby, the All Blacks will have to play the Springboks without Sam Whitelock and Liam Messam.
The Herald's rugby writers answer three questions from last night's All Blacks v Argentina test match at McLean Park.
The star of Argentina's valiant Rugby Championship efforts against the Springboks wasn't a player, but a thing.
To get a sense of how important Kieran Read is to the All Blacks, one needs only to stand on the sideline at training.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is expecting a tight test against Argentina in Napier tomorrow, saying his side will have to show patience against an improving team.
One of rugby's most enduring and engaging debates is the coaches' use of the bench. At best, it adds punch and energy, at worst a cynical exercise in boosting test caps.
How the players rated in the All Blacks' 51-20 thumping of the Wallabies at Eden Park on Saturday.
Images from the second Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park in Auckland.
Thank goodness for that. A bit of order was restored and, with it, a little relief that all may not be so bad in the world of rugby - in the world of New Zealand rugby.
Recap of the second Bledisloe Cup rugby test between the All Blacks and Australia at Eden Park.
The Wallabies outfit which beat the All Blacks at Eden Park 28 years ago had been a good team for a few years, but it was coming to the finishing line.
All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Jerome Kaino have been all but ruled out of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park.