KEY POINTS:
Playing without the All Blacks was supposed to be the easy bit. Turns out, though, that playing with them might be a lot tougher than the Super 14 franchises first thought.
The integration process is likely to be as complex and fraught as releasing endangered species back into
the wild, judging by the state of Mils Muliaina's foot and Joe Rokocoko's ankle.
The conditioning programme has made the 'protected 22' fitter, faster and stronger but has also blunted the hard edges and dulled some of the natural instincts.
And there lies the conundrum for the franchise coaches – they, at last, have access to these super athletes and yet, despite having trained solidly for the last three months, they are not ready to make a real difference.
It's a similar frustration to buying the latest and best gadget and having to sit idle while the damned thing charges its battery.
Daniel Carter, Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins, Tony Woodcock and Carl Hayman are all world class but even world-class players can't be dropped into the middle of a campaign cold and expected to make an immediate impact.
Whatever debate might rage about the quality of this year's competition, no one can deny the pace has been frantic and that the better teams have lifted the intensity.
The Blues in particular have built momentum and improved each week, which is why coach David Nucifora is still not sure how he will go about re-introducing Ali Williams, Woodcock, Keven Mealamu and Rokocoko.
"We have got a plan as to what we might do," said Nucifora. "We will look at our injury toll, we will look at form and then we'll start to make some decisions about how we will use them.
"They [conditioning All Blacks] have been working to a point with us so there is a level of understanding. But there is a difference between a level of understanding at training and a level of understanding at the pace that game [against the Lions] was played. That is the hardest part, being able to work out when they will be able to integrate back into a game of that intensity.
"These are things we will have to judge and things that those four will have to work really hard at. Having fresh bodies is a definite positive. I can only applaud the players who have got us where we are because they have really stepped up to the mark. For the players coming back, they have had to sit and watch these boys perform. As you can imagine, we have a very competitive environment on our hands."
Saimone Taumoepeau's injured calf and Derren Witcombe's obvious need for a rest will probably give Nucifora little choice but to start Woodcock and Mealamu next week. Williams, though, seems certain to enter off the bench as Troy Flavell and Greg Rawlinson are in sparkling form and what to do about Rokocoko? Can he oust Doug Howlett or Rudi Wulf?
But at the Chiefs, Byron Kelleher and Sitiveni Sivivatu will most likely be thrown straight into the starting XV next week in the hope they can inspire a struggling side.
The Hurricanes will have to asses whether it is too big a risk to start their bionic backrow en masse, while the Crusaders will presumably want Carter, McCaw and Chris Jack back in action immediately, with the rest of their All Blacks drip-fed over the next few weeks.
Anton Oliver and Hayman have a trial game under their belts now and coach Greg Cooper needs bulk and experience to close out what has so far been a respectable campaign for the Highlanders.
The ability to integrate smoothly looms as the key to the Blues, Hurricanes and Crusaders' seasons. All three will be stronger once their All Blacks have attained match sharpness.
But the new arrivals need to achieve that sharpness without derailing the collective momentum. There also has to be an awareness that those who have delivered in the first seven rounds can't simply be dumped and ignored now the superstars have returned. Team harmony and dynamics are critical factors in this competition and can't be ignored.
The secondary component to integration is the impact it will have on All Black selection. Assumptions have been made that most, if not all of, the 'protected 22' are already penned in to go to France.
Reuben Thorne might not agree. Nor would Jason Eaton, and Greg Somerville will probably have his doubts. Even a player of Aaron Mauger's experience and unquestioned ability will be sleeping well only once he has turned in some look-at-me performances.
The pressure is seriously on for some of those returning All Blacks and that is exactly the way Graham Henry wanted it.
If the selectors stick to their intention of selecting only three specialist locks, then Eaton needs to make a spectacular return to action. He can't build back into it – that luxury is not available.
James Ryan has impressed, Flavell has excelled and Rawlinson, maybe a longer shot at the start of the season, has seen his odds of making the World Cup squad cut dramatically in recent weeks. Then there is Keith Robinson, the canny old dog who the selectors will feel a grave uneasiness about leaving out.
As Williams remarked after a run-out with the Blues development side last week: "The way Troy and Greg are going, I'm going to be hard pressed to even get on the bench. We [returning All Blacks] can only do what we can do and leave it to the coaches to put us in or not."
"They've [the Blues] built such a good thing at the moment and it would be wrong for us if we did not grow it and enhance it."
On form, Flavell has to be in the touring party, especially as he is capable of playing at blindside, too. Considering Flavell a lock-blindside utility might ease the queue ahead of Eaton but will put the squeeze on Thorne.
Best-case scenario for Thorne is that there is room for seven loose forwards. McCaw, Collins, So'oialo, Masoe and Flavell will take five of them, leaving Thorne, Jerome Kaino, Mose Tuiali'i and Sione Lauaki among others to scrap for the other two spots.
More likely, though, there will be room for only six backrowers and Thorne can't have helped but notice how Kaino is fulfilling his potential or how mature Tuiali'i has been in the absence of his senior pros.
The former All Black skipper will be desperate to show how well his body has responded to a prolonged rest and rehabilitation window. The problem for Thorne is that Kieran Read has been outstanding for the Crusaders and done way too much to be discarded just because an All Black has hoved into view.
There might be some frustrating time on the bench for Thorne with the clock tick-tocking closer to July and the announcement of the World Cup squad.
Mauger might be hearing the same incessant ticking, as Luke McAlister and Isaia Toeava have been sharp and inventive, while in limited outings Nick Evans has attacked the gainline and boomed the ball down the touchlines.
Mauger, Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu need to use the next eight weeks to provide reasons why they should be involved at the next level.
Rokocoko and Sivivatu need to do the same as Doug Howlett has not reached the autumnal phase of his career. He's basking in an Indian summer and Rico Gear purrs like a Rolls Royce.
The Super 14 is about to become fascinating. Everyone is going to be under pressure – the coaches have to suss out integration strategies. The returning players need time to build match sharpness but, for some, time is the one thing they don't have much of. And those who have already produced in the first seven rounds need to keep producing.
Aside from Muliaina, who will probably be out for eight weeks, the beauty of all this pressure is that by the end of May there should be close to 40 players in form and pushing for inclusion in the 30-man All Black squad.