Of course it did.
The players were locked up in managed isolation for two weeks, so the final 20 minutes were always going to be brutal.
Replacement hooker Dane Coles scored three of his four tries — yes, four tries — as the All Blacks eased away to win 57-23.
It was a flattering margin, though. The All Blacks only led 31-23 with a quarter of the match remaining.
The Fijians dominated the physical exchanges at the breakdown for much of the game.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster was quick to acknowledge the visitors’ effort.
‘‘They offered a pretty stern challenge,’’ he said.
‘‘Obviously, they had moments in the game where they put us under quite a bit of pressure. But overall, I’m pleased with the way we came through that.
‘‘It highlighted a few areas that we are obviously going to have to go and tidy up a little bit.
‘‘But I guess the composure to win [with] nine tries against a team that I thought chucked everything at us was pretty pleasing.’’
A large portion of the 15,103 spectators reserved the loudest cheers for the Fijians.
They played some sparkling rugby on attack but went missing at key times on defence.
And, like everyone in world rugby, they are struggling to find a way to stop the lineout drive.
Coles got in the boot of a maul and bagged three tries that way, and also scooped up some loose ball to dot down for another.
The All Blacks certainly mastered the lineout drive but get a lower grade for their effort in other areas of the game.
We might never see that loose forward combination play together for the All Blacks again. Arguably, we never saw that trio play together on Saturday.
Fiji was more physical over the ball and won a series of turnovers.
The All Blacks’ restarts were awfully sloppy as well. They bungled at least three of them.
‘‘We weren’t quite as secure as we wanted in that space,’’ Foster said.
‘‘It will certainly be on the list on Monday.’’
Lock Brodie Retallick had some fine moments in his return to the All Blacks following a near two-year stint in Japan.
He made some thundering tackles and teamed up with Ethan de Groot in a gang tackle — now there’s two blokes you do not want to take on by yourself.
First five Beauden Barrett lacked some accuracy and copped a stray sprig in the face for his troubles. Earlier in the week, he was left with two black eyes after a collision with Ethan Blackadder.
David Havili scored two cheap tries moments apart to help the All Blacks build a 21-11 lead at the break. Fiji’s defence was found wanting on both those occasions.
Fiji captain Levani Botia carried strongly and was an inspiration in the midfield, while loosehead prop Peni Raval threw himself into every contact.
Havili and Coles were the best of the All Blacks. Aaron Smith had a quiet game in his first as captain.
