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There's not much that scares an All Black, but losing the Bledisloe Cup is a fear shared by every player to have worn the jersey since 2003.
The country has been home to the Bledisloe for 23 years, and was locked up for another 12 months last night after an emphatic 50-19 win.
It stretched the All Black's unbeaten run at Eden Park to 54 tests, keeps the Wallabies win-less in Auckland since 1986, and keeps the cup last lost over two decades ago.
It's a record so formidable, captain Codie Taylor admits there is an element of fear that drives the side when defending it.
Perhaps it's fear of the unknown as no current squad member knows what it's like to lose it, but defence coach Tana Umaga does, and made sure his players understood the pain with a history lesson this week.
"When Tana Umaga, who's experienced both sides of the Bledisloe gives you a bit of a spray, you feel that as a player, you've got a responsibility as an All Black to make sure you respond," Taylor said.
Umaga's words hit, and hit hard.
"He knows what it's like not to win it and how hard it is to win back. There's an appropriate fear when someone like that says that, a past All Black captain, a massive All Black legend.
"So there was a bit of fear there this week, which is what you need when you're playing at Eden Park and you're playing for the Bled."
Flanker Wallace Sititi was equally fearful of the fortress falling.
"He's (Umaga) obviously one of our legends and one of the men that led the way coming through the years and he definitely pointed a finger at us throughout the week. I guess it was something the team needed and hopefully we made him proud tonight."
After a rough tour of the republic, Taylor said players were forced to really ask themselves what went wrong in the 3-1 series loss.
"We had real good, honest conversations with each other as a team, and we set the precedent for where we want this team to go. We talked a lot about bringing the appropriate edge, knowing that Australia will be really confident."
That edge proved too sharp for the Aussies, who leaked four unanswered tries to let their Bledisloe dreams slip away once again.
Sititi said the result has brought confidence back into the squad, which was clear to see as the All Blacks ran riot in the second half with some blistering running rugby.
"Hopefully it's installed a bit of belief in us after a tough tour in South Africa is sort of what we needed."