Shannon Frizell scores a try in the Rugby Championship match between New Zealand and South Africa at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland in July. The teams meet again at Twickenham on Friday. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Photosport.nz
Opinion - In a week where there have been plenty of storylines in test rugby, Ian Foster's All Blacks certainly gave the impression they're glad not to be part of any of them. Or indeed that they're even concerned about the goings on that have dominated headlines and social media.
That's why it's fitting they are tucked away in their usual base in Teddington, about an hour or so from central London by train. No one really bothers them down in the sleepy suburb until game day when they make the short trip west to Twickenham.
While all the chat lately has been about Owen Farrell's shoulder, Romain Ntamack's leg and Eddie Jones' mouth, even the massive sporting event of the day here in England didn't seem to be bothering them at all - because really that's the way they like it.
Kicking off their press conference just after Spain had vanquished the Lionesses in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 final, meaning attendance by local media was non-existent, it was no surprise when David Havili told the New Zealand journalists who made the trip across the world that the squad hadn't paid any attention to the wild news.
Instead, he was enjoying the warm London weather - for most of the players the only time they had experienced the city was when it was deep into the dark and cold autumn.
"We've got a job at hand with South Africa, we can't take them lightly as it's a lead-in game to the World Cup, both teams have a lot of history and want to perform, so our focus is on that."
Given neither team had been named yet and the All Blacks are famous for not giving anything away, Havili's answers were to be expected. Anyway, this week's upcoming fixture against the Springboks at Twickenham does have an air of shadow-boxing about it, due to the reasonable likelihood of the sides meeting again in a World Cup quarter-final.
"We've still got a few areas we want to work on," said assistant coach Jason Ryan, who answered with a blunt "no" when asked if he took anything out of the All Blacks' impressive 35-20 win over the Springboks just five weeks ago.
"They played well yesterday and we'll prepare accordingly," Ryan said, referring to the Springboks' 52-16 demolition of a hapless Wales in Cardiff.
The Twickenham fixture is going to be a win for NZ Rugby, no matter what the result is on the field. Chatting with the New Zealand migrant community in London would lead you to believe almost every single one is going on what will be another balmy Friday night, along with a similar number of South Africans. It's sold out, and with it being the largest rugby stadium in the world, the governing body will pocket a few million dollars for simply holding a match they would have played anyway.
But while that's good news, it's hard to really take your eyes off the shambolic state of test rugby right now. Unsurprisingly, Ryan had little to add to the ongoing debate around the massive judicial double standards surrounding Farrell, even though Richie Mo'unga certainly let his feelings be known.
Then there's the fact that France have lost their first five for the entire tournament; not exactly a death blow but certainly one that is going to alter the way they play. Ntamack's injury is an unfortunate by-product of playing warm up games, but also shows the folly of thinking that resting players in Super Rugby is going to somehow magically protect them from this sort of thing happening.
Really, you could argue that the World Cup campaign starts on Friday night at Twickenham. Ryan indicated that the strongest team available will take the field, which makes sense given the nature of the All Blacks' tournament draw.
It's hard to know what the Boks will do given the way they approached the last test between the two sides, or the fact that they recorded an impressive win over Wales over the weekend. It is just what the South Africans needed after patchy form this year had a few people speculating whether they are even going to make it out of the incredibly tough pool.
So, there is plenty to look forward to out of this game on Friday night. While it's been easy to avoid attention for the All Blacks over the last week, as we roll towards the World Cup it simply won't be possible for much longer.
