The All Blacks' new World Cup base in London includes reminders from home as well as a substantial dose of the old enemy.
Lining the walls of the newer section of The Lensbury, a four-star hotel complex on the southern bank of the Thames in Teddington in the south west of the city, are rugby team photos, including those of the 1979 All Blacks captained by Graeme Mourie who toured the United Kingdom, and the 1983 All Blacks captained by Stu Wilson.
In the case of Mourie's team, the All Blacks beat England 10-9 at Twickenham, but Wilson's lost 15-9 in what was the last of the wing's 34 tests.
There are also signed Kiwis rugby league jerseys on another wall, along with the familiar white of England's strip.
Perhaps most significant of all as far as England are concerned are the names of the conference rooms - they are all named for former players of the host nation at this tournament, including one Johnny Wilkinson, who helped his side win the 2003 World Cup with a dropped goal in the final seconds of the final against Australia.
The 171-room hotel, a 1930s complex originally designed to cater for the sporting pursuits of Shell employees, includes a full-size rugby pitch - fenced off for privacy - a gym, 25m heated indoor pool, 19 tennis courts (it has hosted former tennis professionals Steffi Graf, Chris Evert during Wimbledon) and two squash courts. It is all set on just over 10 hectares of manicured grounds.
The All Blacks travelled to their home - at which they will prepare for their matches against Argentina at Wembley on Monday (NZT), and Namibia at the Olympic Stadium four days later - from their central city base today. Following the Namibia match they will travel to Cardiff for their pool game against Georgia and then Newcastle for a game against Tonga.
There is a quiet and relaxed feel about The Lensbury, a far cry from the busy hotel full of tourists and conference goers near Tower Bridge, where they spent their first three nights.
Assistant coach Ian Foster told the assembled media in a press conference held in a large and fully equipped lecture theatre that the self-contained nature of the facility was just what was required.
"Obviously we've just got here today and I think it took us about an hour and 10 minutes to get across town so we were very very thankful after that bus trip to actually get changed and just walk two minutes across the driveway to the field. I know Shandy [manager Darren Shand] and Steve [Hansen] were here earlier in the year and did a lot of good work and chose it for a reason. At this time of the tournament, not having to do a lot of travelling during the week I think is going to be a real bonus.
"It's fantastic and we had a good training today, so no issues at all with the facilities."
Foster, sitting alongside wing Waisake Naholo, added: "It has been a good couple of days. We've had a reasonably busy programme but it's been good for everyone to settle in. But coming here today to The Lensbury and getting out on the park, you can see the excitement building."
