The All Blacks, having just been thrashed by England at Twickenham, could find themselves in the same World Cup pool as their conquerors for the 2015 global tournament.
England's 38-21 victory over the world champions was impressive in every sense but it wasn't enough to secure a top-four seeding for the World Cup draw. Those places remain occupied by New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and France.
The draw, which will take place in London at 4am tomorrow (NZT), will definitely place England, the World Cup hosts, in a pool with one of the tier one-ranked teams.
Facing England in a pool match on their home turf would be an intriguing prospect for the All Blacks. New Zealand have never lost a World Cup pool game, yet that didn't help them in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 or 2007, all tournaments which ended in failure for the men in black.
Being in a strong pool could be beneficial, although not too much should be read into those results. The All Blacks thrashed France in their pool match last year before meeting a very different prospect in the final, which the home team won by the closest of margins, 8-7.