All Black No8 Jerome Kaino made his last All Black appearance at Eden Park in a tight contest two and a-half years ago.
He came back to the same place on Saturday and it was back to the grindstone for the bruising All Black loose forward.
Kaino was one of the standouts in what was a rusty All Black effort in a narrow 20-15 victory over a plucky English side.
Kaino had a tough re-introduction to test rugby but he lapped it up.
''It was exactly how I remembered it. It was quick and physical,'' he said.
''I was very nervous before the game. But the structures and setup that Steve [coach Steve Hansen] has is very similar to what we had during the World Cup so I did not have to alter anything too much.
''I really enjoyed being out there, especially when Conrad got that try. It just made me think how great it is to be back. ... Those are the games you play rugby for.
"Being under the pump and taking the win out. England put us under a lot of pressure and we did not help ourselves by the mistakes we made.''
The All Blacks never got out of first gear against a combative England side.
They kicked too much ball away in the first half and then, when they tried to hang on to the ball, promptly dropped it.
There was some improvement in the second half but the All Blacks were some distance from their best.
They had a couple of chances in the second half, notably when Kaino could not pick up the ball with the tryline a metre away after a nice Aaron Smith break and grubber.
Brodie Retallick then made a nice break before he was stopped within sight of the tryline and England winger Marland Yarde was yellow carded from the resulting ruck.
That shortage told for England as Conrad Smith combined with namesake Ben to score in the right-hand corner with just two minutes left.
The attack stemmed from the decision by Aaron Cruden to go for a quick tap kick instead of a penalty right in front of the posts.
Cruden said afterwards he heard the call from a couple of players - replacements Victor Vito and Beauden Barrett - to spread the ball to the right.
''I was just expecting to put the ball on the kicking tee and have a shot but then I got a call from the outside and saw the English defence was expecting a kick and were migrating to the posts. I trusted that call and moved it,'' Cruden said.
Cruden said the All Blacks were not expecting the English to be so flat in defence and the backs tried to kick into space, which did not always work.
Conrad Smith said it was a bold decision by Cruden.
''He obviously saw something and it is good for us to be alert. I think it is something that can set us apart in that we are prepared to try things,'' Smith said.
For the English, it was a case of one that got away.
They had dominance at the set piece and made metres through the midfield back duo. But they could not get across the chalk and that was ultimately the difference.
Best performers for the home team were Aaron Smith and Kaino, while Retallick got through plenty of work.
The English tight five was strong and No8 Ben Morgan was lively, while second five-eighth Kyle Eastmond was always tidy.
All Blacks v England
The scores
All Blacks 20
Conrad Smith try; Aaron Cruden 5 pen
England 15
Freddie Burns 4 pen, Danny Ciprani pen
Halftime: 9-9.
Crowd: 47,195.