Foot on the throat
Much has been made this week about the potential for a psychological boost ahead of next year's World Cup; that a comprehensive clean sweep would portend good things for the All Blacks' title defence in England.
Steve Hansen refuted such a narrative, issuing a reminder that the 2007 side thrashed France twice, by a combined score of 103-21, before losing "the one that mattered".
In saying that, though, a dominant win this weekend – the two sides' penultimate clash ahead of the World Cup – would achieve twin goals: dissuading any dissenters from thinking this side is a fading force, and ensuring the All Blacks enjoy happy flashbacks when they next see the English rose.
Neither of those accomplishments can be a bad thing, while prolonging an historic winning run would also instil in the minds of the rest of the Rugby Championship the much-desired fear factor about travelling to these shores.
"I've thought a lot about how far away we are from being the side we want to be," Hansen says, "and we've got four or five more steps we can take to be back to where we can be.
"That's been our focus– trying to really lift our performance to a level that we can really be proud of."
Full 80-minute effort
It's no secret the All Blacks have been slow starters in this series. England have been able to catch their opposition off guard from the get go and stake themselves to leads in both games' nascent stages.
While the All Blacks have managed to haul in the English and take the two tests, an early deficit will prove far more difficult to overcome at Ellis Park, or on the end-of-year tour.
"We're poor starters," says Hansen. "We haven't quite got it right, so maybe we're either over-aroused or under-aroused."
The All Blacks' arousal levels also waned in the final 20 minutes of the second test, allowing England to pull within one. When playing at their peak, the world champions will never allow that kind of revival, preventing close encounters by piling on more points.
That will be a goal at Waikato Stadium – extending the third quarter effort in Dunedin across the entire match to warn future foes that poor patches from the All Blacks are unlikely.
"It would be good if we had four [quality quarters]," Hansen says. "That's about having the energy to play the game at high speed and high intensity for 80 minutes."
Strength under high ball
Basic mistakes have plagued the All Blacks' attack throughout this series, with drops curtailing dangerous passages of play before the team could reap reward. But one area in which handling errors were worryingly prevalent was before those passages even begun.
Leading up to the first test, Hansen thought having a back three featuring a trio of fullbacks would render the high ball a real strength. It hardly went according to plan and, while a couple of notable takes from Ben Smith in Dunedin provided some respite, it was still far from flawless.
Stuart Lancaster says his side will attempt to avoid playing too much rugby at their end of the park on Saturday, leaving Hansen to conclude more kicking is on the way. That means the All Blacks need to find a solution for this particular problem and, luckily, Cory Jane has the answer.
"If teams want to jump up for the ball and not really try to catch the ball – just whack it back or get in our way – then we've got to be stronger with our hard parts, our knees and elbows," he says. "So when they do it, we hit them and they don't want to do it again."
Dominate through driving mauls
If the All Blacks can turn this aspect of their game into a reliable asset, an already-formidable forward pack will develop a whole new dimension.
The signs are encouraging – in Dunedin the home side's driving maul was as solid as it's looked in recent years, particularly from the lineout. That's traditionally an area where New Zealand sides struggle to excel but Sam Whitelock feels those fortunes are on the verge of shifting.
"In Super Rugby, in general, the Africans have been the most dominant maulers," he says. "But I think that trend's starting to change.
"If you look at some of the Australian sides, they're starting to drive a lot more, and some of the New Zealand sides are doing that also. I think that's flowed down to [the All Blacks] as well.
"It's something that everyone's got to work on – both the attacking maul and the defensive maul – but I think it's an area we could definitely improve on."
The All Blacks have had a first-hand look at where any enhancement could lead, with England's sizable pack finding consistent success in the driving maul across this series. And to be the best you have to beat the best – a task which begins on Saturday.
A captain's knock
The All Blacks' loose forward trio, when firing and in full health, can really separate this side from the field. It will be satisfying to merely see Kieran Read take the paddock in Hamilton, while Jerome Kaino has rapidly regained something approaching top form.
Richie McCaw, however, needs an impressive individual game arguably more than any of his teammates.
The captain was underwhelmed by his own display in Dunedin, saying his form wasn't "top-of-the-drawer just yet", and that verdict arrived with reason. McCaw missed a tackle in the build-up to England's opening try, failed to snaffle a single turnover and, generally, looked short of the pace. It's easy to wonder whether his warrior spirit can no longer match his 33-year-old body.
There's one way to start extinguishing those doubts and, knowing McCaw, it would be a brave man to bet against the skipper summoning another inspirational performance on Saturday.
Producing the odd such outing, of course, is insufficient in an international environment as rigorous as it is relentless. But seeing the McCaw of old, wrapping up anyone who strays to close before finding his feet and burrowing for the loose ball, would quell any critics suggesting his time at the top could be coming to an end.
