From the grunters up front to the speedsters out the back, the All Blacks said they were put through the mill on Saturday night.
The British and Irish Lions provided a tough opponent at Eden Park on Saturday night but that challenge helped lift the home side to what in the end was a decisive 30-15 win.
Prop Owen Franks, who was part of a tremendous display by the All Blacks front five, said the engine room knew it had to perform or the whole team would have been in trouble.
''Most of us have had a crack at them and we knew what to expect. Playing northern hemisphere teams, you know they are going to try and have some dominance and give confidence to their team,'' Franks said.
''So we knew if we did not get fired up for it, it would be a long day. It was easy to get fired up for. Challenges like this are. We had done all the preparation. You did not have to search for much for extra motivation.''
The All Blacks rolled up their sleeves and went more directly than usual against the men from up north, enjoying nearly twice as much possession and territory.
In the end that told and the All Blacks pulled away at the end after they were up 13-8 at halftime.
Two-try winger Rieko Ioane, making his home debut in an All Black jersey, said the game went quickly.
''It was a fast game and a step up from what I had been playing,'' he said.
His second try with just over 10 minutes left started when he picked up the ball on the bounce and sprinted 45m away from the defence - a real show of outright speed.
''I got a bit of a lucky bounce. The coaches have been talking to me all week and they just gave me the confidence to play, which was awesome.''
Ioane showed the speed and skills which gave him the selection edge over Julian Savea.
Israel Dagg, who looks more at home on the wing the more he plays there, said credit had to go to the hard working All Black forward pack.
''They did the hard yards up front. Us backs had to look after that ball and treasure that ball. We probably threw a few too many of those 50-50 passes and offloads in the first half,'' Dagg said.
As predicted, the Lions put up plenty of box kicks but they were well handled by the All Blacks. Dagg said they knew they were coming.
''I thought we did pretty well. In the first half we dropped a few but towards the end of the first half and in the second half we caught those balls well. If we do not catch them they will punish you.''
The Lions started very well and winger Elliot Daly was unlucky not to score after just two minutes. But good work by Dagg put him out in the corner.
The All Blacks scored the first try through hooker Codie Taylor, who raced in out on the wing following a quick tap.
The Lions came back through a long-range try to flanker Sean O'Brien right before halftime.
The visiting team nearly scored after halftime but could not finish and that came back to haunt them as Ioane punished them.
The All Black forward pack was outstanding, none more so than Brodie Retallick and Sam Cane, while Sonny Bill Williams got through a power of work.