KEY POINTS:
So it all comes down to this. An All Black victory on Sunday against England will round out another Grand Slam in a year when Graham Henry has already won the international coach of the year crown.
The All Black staff, by their own admission, have regained their
equilibrium, self-assurance and bluster after the mid-series dramas during the Tri-Nations programme. Now only the red rose of England stands between an unbeaten end of year tour, a repeat Grand Slam and the sort of disgruntled summer the All Blacks of 1993 suffered after they lost at Twickenham.
Even if England improve significantly from last week, and you would expect that reaction, they should not be able to stay with the All Blacks for large chunks of the match and certainly the last quarter. The visitors want to play at pace and even Wales, who were similarly minded, could not hack that as the test wore on.
For the last three tests on this tour we have seen the selectors' verdict on their best team in 2008. A foot injury to hooker Andrew Hore and the departure of tighthead prop Greg Somerville have kept them out of the mix but otherwise this is the best side the panel could pick in what is the 15th and final assignment of the season.
Let's flip back to the start of the year when the selectors, reappointed but fretting through their emotional cocktail of anxiety and frustration after eight months of inactivity, sent their first side out against Ireland. It had four different players from the group being sent into the final skirmish this weekend at Twickenham.
Senior wing Joe Rokocoko was unavailable because of wrist surgery with his place going to Blues teammate Anthony Tuitavake, while Andrew Ellis was the halfback in the backline alterations.
Ellis had long been admired by the panel though he did seem to be more workmanlike than wizard. Strong and courageous like most scrumhalves, his running game seemed to have evaporated and he had also developed a delay in his delivery. Ellis was deemed preferable to Jimmy Cowan at that stage, while Brendon Leonard was having the knee troubles which would later require surgery.
The pack had two different players from the one charged with claiming a final victory this weekend. The looseforwards were the same although Jerome Kaino and Rodney So'oialo had swapped positions as the panel went through some theory about left and right flankers. Mercifully that concept lasted just two internationals and the looseforwards have seemed far more comfortable since.
The alterations were in the front row. John Afoa was tighthead, Hore was hooker while Neemia Tialata was there but asked to fill the loosehead role in the initial 21-11 test victory on a dirty night in Wellington.
There are 10 players who have disappeared or been overlooked from the first group, including the standby list and the Tri-Nations squad for this end-of-year trip. Hore and Ellis made the start and went home injured while Greg Somerville came on standby to Hong Kong and then went home.
The 10 are: Leon MacDonald, Paul Williams, Rudi Wulf, Leonard, Taniela Moa, Sione Lauaki, Chris Masoe, Daniel Braid, Kevin O'Neill and John Schwalger.
MacDonald, Leonard, Moa and O'Neill were unavailable through injury and Braid in signing to play for the Queensland Reds next season effectively shut the gate on his touring chances. The intrigue will be to see whether MacDonald goes around for another Super 14 season after quitting this year because of the lingering effects of another concussion.
Leonard's health and form should be of enormous interest to the selectors, Wulf and Schwalger may come again while that is the $64,000 question about Lauaki.
The burly No 8 has been lethal but not regularly enough. Too often Lauaki appears to play with doubt as his passenger, his stutter steps a metaphor for his indecision. Newcomers like his Chiefs teammate Liam Messam and Kieran Read were picked in his place for this trip and have responded, now it is over to Lauaki.