Right, well I think we can all be grateful that tour is done and dusted. In amongst the occasionally sparkling rugby, the tour has been comfortably overshadowed by goings-on off the paddock. Whether that saga will drag on much longer is yet to be seen, but either way it has left an ugly aftertaste in the mouths of supporters from The Land of The Long White Cloud and The Land Of The Long White Flag…

But back to the rugby. As a dress rehearsal I expect Ted and his two able deputies will be reasonably happy with the wash-up after Saturday’s test. While the injury to McCaw is frustrating and certainly unwelcome, to see their charges continue on “business as usual” would have been heartening to a management that has seen plenty of their core head overseas in the last 8 months.

So’oialo stepped into the captaincy role with consummate ease,  Thomson – already playing the left-right flanker role with McCaw – took over his added responsibilities with relative aplomb while Lauaki – a few handling errors aside – added impetus from the back.

A similar story played out in the second row. I’m sure I wasn’t the only AB supporter who was a little nervous when Anthony Boric came on with three-quarters of the game to go, but he handled the big occasion adequately and didn’t look out of place in the black jersey. That said, he didn’t set the house on fire unlike the debutant centre, Richard Kahui.

With the benefit of hindsight, many may be reflecting on their scaremongering last week when Kahui came in for the well-performed Conrad Smith with a little bit of sheepishness. Kahui needed to be tried at some stage and you can’t ask for much more than he provided in his first crack at international footy. He’s always had the promise, but has fought through more injuries than Genghis Khan (I’m assuming he took a knock or two at some stage during his battles through Asia, but I’m no history buff). It was also nice to see him show some concern for Tait after their head clash. Handy enough debut from Wulf on the wing as well, although play didn’t really come his way.

The front row again had the wood over their English counterparts from what my uncultured propping eye could see – Stevens has had a tour to forget while Lee Mears was barely noticed other than when he was replaced. Nice to see Woodcock get a few minutes under the belt, while the hooking battle between Hore and Mealamu looks set to rage all season, which can hardly be a bad thing.

Aside from McCaw and Williams succumbing to injury and the news that The Rok could be a while away, the cartel will go forward to the Tri Nations with some confidence.