That's more like it. After a tense week with the All Blacks, in which the need to make amends was so palpable it felt like it was dripping from the walls of the team hotel, their eventual 42-12 victory over the Pumas at Eden Park made for a much happier environment.
It wasn't the relief that Scott Robertson and his men felt after their first test win against England, or the wide-eyed wonder at a full San Diego stadium.
This was a far more All Black-like attitude, utu for last weekend's shock defeat to the Pumas in Wellington. It was a case of putting things right, but just how did they do it?
Playing in the right end of the field
Last weekend the All Blacks couldn't get out of their own half. This time they barely ever let the Pumas out of theirs. That equation means you win test matches, thanks to smart kicking and a more assured approach to gaining territory.
Scrums certainly helped
It's hard to know if the lack of scrums last week said more about the All Blacks or test rugby in general, given how it played such a big part in disrupting their game plan. However, last night saw a dominant performance by the pack, yielding a number of penalties that were turned into field position. Robertson talked last weekend about how the Pumas had the All Blacks "in a grip", this time around the roles were definitely reversed.
The attack clicked
It felt like every right option was taken and Damian McKenzie was a big part of that, most notably when he sent Beauden Barrett through a yawning gap to score just before halftime. His short kicking game was one of the few positives from Wellington and he kept it up by sending the ball into no man's land to torment the Pumas' cover defence. The most spectacular use of the tactic was when Ardie Savea collected a kick, then barged through two defenders like they were more of an annoyance than anything.
Beauden Barrett of New Zealand celebrates his try. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Big game players stood up
All three men mentioned above had huge performances, with McKenzie in particular answering a few questions. Savea seemed to have taken last weekend's loss particularly personally and put in one of his better shifts as captain. Will Jordan once again showed why you might as well start the scoreboard at 5-0 whenever he's named, while Caleb Clarke performed the role he was picked to on the other wing. Elsewhere, Ethan Blackadder did a serious amount of dirty work and defence to justify why Robertson picked him despite having barely played any rugby this year.
Goal kicking
He left it extremely late on a couple of conversions but McKenzie still nailed everything put in front of him - and they weren't by any means easy kicks.
New Zealand’s Damian McKenzie kicks a conversion. Photo: Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
Discipline
Asafo Aumua's yellow card actually said more about how good the All Blacks' discipline has been this season more than anything else. The replacement hooker's hit on Pumas winger Matthew Carreras was fairly carded but there's no suggestion it was anything more than an accident, with Carreras changing direction late, however the lack of even a warning for professional fouls in their own 22 is the most pleasing aspect of the All Black defence so far.
Eden Park intact
It's hard to get anything out of the All Blacks regarding what Eden Park does for their performance, but Robertson did make mention of wanting to honour the players that had come before them to make the venue such a fortress. Now, if only they could somehow bottle that feeling and inject it next time they play in Wellington.
And one thing to work on
It feels nit-picky but after Jordan's second try in the 42nd minute the All Blacks didn't score again. A couple more tries could've turned it from a convincing rout to thunderous warning aimed squarely at the Springboks, who they play next. Things did lose shape when the bench was emptied, which was the case last weekend, however this time the defensive effort was far better and that's a confident step heading towards Ellis Park.
