In 2011 the All Blacks came into their first game without really knowing their best wing combination. They ended up settling on Richard Kahui, who was a regular centre with a bit of experience on the wing.
They were prepared to use a non-specialist wing because they felt that Kahui was best suited to dealing with high balls. They liked his technique and bravery in the air and his one-on-one tackling was destructive and momentum-shifting.
He was quicker than many realised and an astute footballer, but Kahui was a defensive choice - selected more for what he was likely to do without the ball than with it.
On the other wing was Cory Jane, the man who, at the time, was the world's best under the high ball. Jane was nothing short of magical in the way he could diffuse bombs and get under offensive kicks and steal them back.
It was Jane, Kahui and Israel Dagg who arguably won the All Blacks the semifinal in 2011. From as early as 2009 the All Black coaches had forecast that the knockout rounds of the 2011 World Cup would be dominated by high kicks. They were right.
The Wallabies kept going to the air and Jane, Kahui and Dagg kept catching everything that came their way. It was one of the best defensive efforts produced by an All Black back three.
Wind the clock on four years and the All Blacks have in Nehe Milner-Skudder and Julian Savea two players whose key skill is their ability to attack. The former has fast feet, incredibly agility and elusiveness and the awareness to keep the ball alive and use his support.
Milner-Skudder has been picked to provide attacking spark. To beat defenders; to come off his wing and use his running game to break the All Blacks into space.
It's the same with Savea although the execution will likely be different. Savea is the most powerful runner - a supreme finisher. At 110kg and 1.92m, he's on the field to get his hands on the ball and take defenders on. How and where he does that, the coaches don't really mind: they just want to see him working hard to involve himself in the game and make something happen.
Both of them can manage under a high ball, yet neither would be classified as defensive wings. They are men who excite and their selection for tomorrow's quarter-final illustrates both the changed state of the game and the different mindset of the All Blacks at this World Cup compared with the last.
The aerial bombardment that was prevalent at the last tournament and in the preceding years has eased off. Teams still kick and compete for the ball in the air - just not as much as they did four years ago.
As for the All Blacks, under head coach Steve Hansen, they have come to England with an attacking mind-set. The first priority of their wings now is to be able to finish - to be able to do something with the ball in hand. Four years ago, ability under the high ball was the first skill on which they were judged.
By the end of the pool stages of the last World Cup All Black wings in the squad had scored a total of nine tries between them. At this World Cup, the three wings have scored 10 tries - the difference being their percentage of the overall total.
In 2011 the All Blacks had scored 35 tries by the end of the pool rounds; this year the total is 25 at the same stage.
