Wow, first test of the year just four days away (it's the Frogs by the way), not that you would know.  Usually there is a buzz in the air, the forum humming over what should or shouldn't be happening in the All Black camp.  But this year, World Cup year, where all tests but the RWC count for squat, the excitement is just not there.

It does not help that the French are sending a team where we don't know any of the players, unless you count the few players that they pulled out of their old folks homes to come and battle with the All Blacks.  So, despite all the injuries in the All Black camp, the Frogs should be handed a rugby lesson this weekend, and if not, well, then expect the forum to be going into overtime with doom and gloom merchants out in full force.

That though - the doom merchants - is a bit of a Kiwi defensive mechanism kicking in isn't it.  If you don't get your hopes up too high, if they are dashed, then your fall isn't so hard.  I say though, balls on the line, get your bloody hopes up, enjoy the ride of the World Cup, and if the ride ends with the rails leading to a brick wall, so be it - enjoy the loops and spins until then, don't worry about the end of the ride unti lyou bloody get there.  This year, fingers toes and nose hairs crossed, it will be at the 80th minute of a final, not the 80th of a semi final, or that piss-pot dumb arse 3rd 4th playoff.  Perhaps if that match meant something it might be worth playing, or even curtain raise the final, but the blatant money grab that it is, pah, shove it up your arse, who cares who the best loser is?

But, in the best manor of Lee Grant (world famous on the TSF forums), I am digressing - it is test week folks, so what can we expect from France 'C'?  In the 199 RWC year they also sent out an inexperienced team, and we racked up 50 points against them, and even our Juniors gave them a spanking.  But that counted for sod all come RWC time, and the match that never happened...

As portents go, not good!  Only if you believe in that stuff though, which I don't.  So, touching wood, it won't happen again this time around, after we spank the hell out of this French side!

What we will get from the Frogs is typical French passion, with a bit of biff mixed in for good measure I am sure - especially if a Mr T Flavell is named in the starting line-up - he'll be a target for sure, and it will be a good test to see if Mr Brain Explosion is up to the test of winning a RWC, not losing it by being a boofhead in a vital match...  Whatever happens, they won't go down without a fight - RWC places are up for grabs here too for these players, put in a good showing against the number one ranked side in the world, and you might have booked a place on the bus come RWC.

What to look for in the All Blacks, what will we accept as passable, and what will we not?

We know they are going to be rusty as hell, but being typical Kiwi rugby heads, we are going to expect a performance, at the very least, like the third Lions test of 2005, or the first French test on last seasons EOYT.  It won't happen (the polished performance), first tests very rarely produce too much quality, but we need to see promise.

Promise that they will get better in the second test, that there is plenty to build on (in coach speak), and all that jazz.  What I want to see though is...

1:  Patience:  RWC wins are going to be won by sides that are patient, that just keep on keeping on, not panicking, just moving along and doing things right, and waiting for the points to come.  Not forcing the matter too much - if you have faith in your game plan, just keep at it until the opposition breaks, and then, then, make hay while the sun shines, and pile on the points.  This means less Ma'a Nonu and forced passes that go to ground and surrender possession, and more Conrad Smith, 1 break = 1 try...

2:  Accuracy.  To allow yourself to have the above mentioned patience, you have to be accurate.  If you make errors, then the panic can't set in.   So just go through your work, building pressure with accurate kicking, tackling, and phase play.  Don't 'Nonu' (turn the ball over every second possession), but just go about your work, follow your game plan, and wait until the chance arises, and then make the most of it.

Accuracy in the set pieces vital too - I have no worries about the scrum - even with the spastic 'crouch, touch, hold, have a cup of tee, two sugars in mine, wait while it brews, would you like a ginger-nut with that, engage" call, line-outs though, that is another matter. Here we have to be confident, quick in our set up and execution, and accurate in our throwing.

The blouses out wide have to have that accuracy too, in execution of their moves and passes, and all that stuff that they do to score those flash tries that round out the work from the fatties up front.  Knowing when to call the right moves too helps!

So only a couple of things I want to see from the All Blacks, but those two things really encompass the entire game of rugby, and in fact most team sports, patience and accuracy.

Frightening to look ahead though, as we know that this week the All Blacks will be rusty, next week should be more polished, and by week three, when the Canadians come along, they will be starting to hit their straps.  With the NZ Maori racking up 9 tries and 50 odd points against the Canucks, it is not going to be pretty in Hamilton is it...

Then the real stuff starts, the Tri Nations, and perhaps there will be a little more excitement, as the hugely confident Boers will be up to bat, and the thorn in the side Aussies (a team we have NEVER beaten in a RWC tournament).