KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks have put aside personal agendas in an effort to prevent the squad being hampered by emotion.
So far, seven of the squad have announced they will be heading overseas after the World Cup and will therefore be finishing their All Black careers in France.
The
exodus is unprecedented and it is also a New Zealand phenomenon. Both South Africa (recently passed) and Australia enforce similar eligibility restrictions on offshore-based individuals, but neither loses players in the same volume as the All Blacks.
The fact this World Cup is the last chance for so many players has been a topic of conversation within the squad. The knowledge this is the last chance to make history has given some of the departing individuals an extra intensity.
Byron Kelleher is a ball of mental energy, Anton Oliver is fiercely determined to make amends for 1999 and Carl Hayman wants to destroy anything in a No 1 jersey. These men and Doug Howlett, Chris Jack, Aaron Mauger and Luke McAlister want to make history before they bow out.
But there is a potential negative to this. An All Black's last game is an emotional business.
Those who have been in control of their international exit say the occasion can be overwhelming - that it is easy to lose focus and become debilitated by anxiety.
The All Blacks have reached the conclusion that it's too risky trying to convert the raw emotion into effective performance.
The best strategy, as far as they are concerned, is to lock out personal feelings and remain task focused.
There will be no reference to last games. Team talks will not be built on a theme of going out in style. All that can wait.
As Mauger says: "There is not really any place for personal agendas. We are all here doing one job. I am one of those guys leaving but I haven't thought about it too much. I have put it all to one side.
"I just want to give it all I can for the next seven weeks and I suppose I owe it to be at my best in this tournament and all the other guys are like that as well."
Hayman revealed to the Herald on Sunday a couple of weeks ago that he felt the same way as Howlett. These players haven't reached that conclusion independently.
They have reached it through discussion and debate, and whatever happens in the weeks to come there can be little debate that the All Blacks of 2007 have been through a thorough preparation.
Nothing has been left to chance. Every angle has been covered, every potential problem discussed, analysed and a solution devised.
According to Oliver, who has been on the test scene since 1995, the same was not true in the doomed campaigns of 1999 and 2003.
"In 1999 we were a bit complacent," said Oliver. "We thought we were going to do things that we didn't. The same could be said of the 2003 side. They played pretty well against the South Africans and they got slightly complacent.
"The difference with this side is that the planning that has gone into it is phenomenal.
"If you know Graham Henry, he likes ticking every box. Complacency is not going to be a factor.
"If we get beaten it will be by a better team who were better over the 80 minutes.
"It won't be because they did something we weren't expecting, it will be because they were straight out better than us and you can wear that."
