While last weekend's opening of Super Rugby Aotearoa was celebrated as the return of rugby here in New Zealand, it also gave All Blacks selectors their first look at players after three months away from the game.
While the All Blacks' schedule in 2020 is still up in the air due to the coronavirus pandemic currently restricting international travel, hopes for a trans-Tasman bubble and a potential Bledisloe Cup series later this year mean head coach Ian Foster and his crew were all-eyes at the weekend for the two matches.
One eager scout was new assistant coach Brad Mooar who viewed the games while still in quarantine after finally making it back to New Zealand for the new gig following a stint at the helm of Welsh Pro14 club Scarlets.
Mooar told 1 NEWS this afternoon he was "super excited" to see rugby's return.
"To see Super Rugby Aotearoa going and also community sports getting up and running, it's so important for our psyche and society and there's a real buzz around the place."
Mooar added while they had lost time and games with the lockdown for their selecting, the unique prospect of 10 weeks of New Zealand-only contests make up for it.
"Because it's a run of derby games, I think we're going to see full squads get exposed whereas when it's in amongst the full competition potentially the younger fellas may not get as much of an opportunity.
"That's something that we're really grateful and blessed with in New Zealand is that our sides are really well coached and prepared conditionally-wise, medically-wise and obviously rugby coached.
"We saw some great play [over the weekend] - how good to see those young fellas just ignite with speed and energy and having a go."
Mooar told 1 NEWS the next few months will be about coming together as a management unit to ensure if the All Blacks do get Tests later in the year, they present a tight-knit environment from the get-go.
"I think Fozzy has led outstandingly well throughout this process with us and has made sure that the people part of it is solid and everyone is getting what we need whether it's space or connection.
"It's been building relationships, talking footy, getting aligned on language and what we see as major parts of the game and where we want to take it.
"But overall, the really strong benefit from all of this has been the benefit of building really strong foundations that we can build on with a good alignment amongst the management."
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