Coach Ian Foster claims the All Blacks' spirited comeback win over Scotland proves just how far his team have come since their shaky start to 2022.
After their early 14-0 lead was rapidly erased by 23 unanswered points from the Scots, New Zealand suddenly found themselves nine points adrift and, with a raucous Murrayfield crowd hitting full voice, teetering on the precipice, with only 20 minutes to play.
Would these All Blacks add another piece of unwanted history to their campaign by spoiling their unblemished record against Scotland, the same year they fell to Argentina and Ireland on home soil for the first time?
As the errors and indiscipline mounted, fans could have been forgiven for thinking precisely that.
Instead, powered by a mammoth impact by their bench, the men in black reeled off 17 straight points to finish with a 31-23 win.
Reflecting on the performance, Foster heaps praise on his team for the mettle they' showed to steady a ship that may have capsized in similar circumstances a few months ago.
"I was delighted to come away with a good win for many reasons," Foster said. "One of them was the composure shown in the last 20.
"When you're away from home against a team with their tails up, it's hard to turn that around.
"I thought the work done by Sam [Whitelock] and the leaders on the park - and the bench in particular - gave us a lot of composure and enabled us to finish that test very strongly.
"It's a test win we're very proud of."
Foster points to consecutive losses against France and Ireland on last year's northern tour, when they struggled to find the level-headedness needed to battle back into the contest the way they did at Murrayfield.
"You train for scenarios like this," he said. "If you go back 12 months to the last two tests of the year, where we tripped up in the north, both those tests, we were in contention at the start of the last quarter, but we didn’t show the composure we showed today.
“I think that shows some good signs of growth and that’s with a few guys who were getting some opportunity, particularly the likes of Mark Telea playing his first test in that sort of environment with that sort of pressure. He'll be really proud of what he did."
The Blues wing would have given Foster and his staff plenty of food for thought, rising to the occasion in his test debut to score a brace of tries and lead the team in metres gained (92).
Adding to that buffet was Dalton Papali'i. A colossus across the park - particularly at the breakdown - his player-of-the-match performance will have the drums beating at fever pitch from the anti-Cane brigade.
"He's carried on how he's played for us last year, and he's grown an arm and leg since then," Foster assessed.
"He's tough and up here, he's well suited to the close-quarter type games played. We're delighted with his form.
"He's a hungry man, he wants to play and he's playing really well."
Among the best from a game-changing reserves bench was TJ Perenara. Called into the squad from the All Blacks XV to play his first test in 12 months, the Hurricanes halfback added some much-needed impetus and combativeness.
Midfielder Rieko Ioane was a significant upgrade over David Havili, who has struggled to find his best in black this year, while hooker Codie Taylor backed up his superb outing against Wales with another impressive outing.
“Rieko [Ioane] came on, and I thought he was a lot more direct and forceful with his carry in midfield, and he brought a sharper feel to that," noted Foster.
"Codie was outstanding when he came off the bench and TJ [Perenara], for his first test of the year and he’s been out of the squad, I thought that was as good as he's played for us for quite a long time.
"We're delighted with that."
The All Blacks will now travel to London for the marquee match of their tour against England on Sunday (NZ time), when they'll have a chance to close the door on a challenging 2022 on a resounding high note.
Join us at 6:30am, Sunday for live updates of All Blacks v England
