OPINION: And then there were 17.
Seventeen days until the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup campaign kicks off in Paris.
They have the small matter of tackling the Springboks in a warm-up game first, their final hit out before it all kicks off in France.
And while the All Blacks themselves might be laser focused on South Africa and only South Africa, it's almost impossible not to look at that match through something of a World Cup lens.
World Cups can be fascinating beasts, depending on how you're placed. Given World Rugby draws the pools almost three years in advance of the tournament, pool play can sometimes only serve up one genuine challenge before the knockout stages start.
That's the situation the All Blacks find themselves in at this World Cup. Their biggest test comes in the very first match of the tournament, a mouthwatering showdown with hosts France at the iconic Stade de France.
You don't have to look too far back to the two sides' last contest at the same venue, where the All Blacks were belted on their 2021 end of year tour.
That clash will be fresh in their minds as they prepare for their World Cup opener.
After the French showdown, though, there's quite the change of pace. The All Blacks face Namibia in Toulouse, before a week off in Bordeaux and then return to their base in Lyon to round out pool play against Italy and Uruguay.
Those are hardly tests that will have Ian Foster on edge.
And that's where this weekend's warm-up match against the Springboks becomes so important.
That, along with their World Cup opener two weeks later, will provide the sternest tests before the All Blacks hit the quarter-final stage of the tournament.
So, don't expect the All Blacks to play anything safe this weekend.
Game time is at a premium. Foster rested several frontline players for the final Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies, and the All Blacks paid the price with a sloppy opening 40 minutes, before they got the lift they badly needed from their reserves.
Foster's decision to heavily rotate his side for that match - while clearly the right one and one he'd earned the right to make after their scorching start to the season - means, come kick-off at Twickenham, it will be three weeks since many of his first-choice players have seen the field.
Resting them again for the Springboks would make it five weeks by the time their World Cup opener against France rolls around on September 9 (NZ time).
That is simply not an option for Foster. It will be a close to full strength side that runs out at Twickenham. All three Barretts, Aaron Smith, Richie Mo'unga, Rieko Ioane, Ethan de Groot, Tyrel Lomax, and Mark Telea are likely to return to the starting line-up.
The contest presents a valuable opportunity to ensure by the time they run out on Stade de France two weeks later, the cohesion and consistency that's proved successful all year is well restored.
France in the opening game of the World Cup is a test they can ill afford to be below their best at. The result of that clash is likely to decide the Pool A standings, and therefore whether the All Blacks get South Africa, Ireland, or possibly even Scotland, in their quarter-final.
London this weekend is the ideal launching pad for their World Cup campaign. It's an opportunity the All Blacks can't afford to squander.
Ollie Ritchie is Newshub's rugby reporter
