Tomorrow night we will get our first look at Scott Robertson’s All Blacks.
There is no gentle warm-up for the former Crusaders guru. England should present a very tough challenge at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Wind the clock back to 2004 and the All Blacks found themselves in a similar spot.
England were world champions and, oh, how that grated.
Graham Henry was having his first outing as the All Blacks coach and he could not have hoped for a better debut.
The home team played some sparkling rugby under lights on a cold night at Carisbrook.
Doug Howlett, Joe Rokocoko and Carlos Spencer all scored tries, while Dan Carter banged over three conversion and five penalties.
The soon-to-be knighted England coach Clive Woodward gave the All Blacks the greatest endorsement he could give when describing his side’s effort.
"I cannot think of any positives to take from this," he said.
Beautiful stuff.
Muliaina said both the class of 2004 and 2024 were rebuilding for the next World Cup cycle and had a new coach at the helm.
"It has got those similarities. It is the first test for Razor Robertson and his coaching staff.
"It was the same for Ted [Henry] and his coaching staff.
"There was a lot of excitement around us coming into camp and trying to play a different style."
Style has been a hot topic this week. What will the
All Blacks look like under Robertson, who strung together seven consecutive titles with the Crusaders between 2017 and 2023 before getting the top gig?
"We really got structure-oriented, so there is a bit of talk about a different type of style. What that looks like is the intriguing part.
"In our DNA we love that expansive play. Our forwards have been a real strength in terms of the skill set they’ve been able to use, albeit in the last couple of years we’ve really gone back to trying to bash teams and win the physical battle that way."
Muliaina is looking forward to seeing the All Blacks return to a more freewheeling approach.
Stephen Perofeta has been named at fullback for the game, which will have come as a surprise to Muliaina. He had expected either Beauden Barrett or Damian McKenzie to get the No15 jersey.
McKenzie has been named at first five instead and Barrett is on the bench. It is an early signal, perhaps, that the All Blacks will look to play with more panache with McKenzie running the cutter.
Muliaina’s take on the England team is they will look to attack the All Blacks in the set pieces and try to dominate physically, although halfback Alex Mitchell and first five Marcus Smith should bring some excitement.
"But are they willing to go away from that [physical game] and play a little more expansively?
"I don’t think they will go tit for tat because I don’t think they will be able to stick with the All Blacks."
