The All Blacks XV have made sure they lived up to the hype with their first-ever game, dismantling Ireland A 47-19 this morning in Dublin as players made cases for higher selections.
There’s been plenty of talk around this squad since New Zealand Rugby created it as "a critical high-performance pathway to the All Blacks" - from its name to its purpose to its players and everything in between.
Well, if there were ever cases needed to show that, Shaun Stevenson and Damian McKenzie may be it.
In amongst a squad featuring plenty of All Blacks stars – some of which made their own cases to Ian Foster for a call up – the Chiefs duo were the perfect example of what the side is supposed to be; an up-and-coming winger pushing for higher honours and an experienced campaigner looking to get back there.
Stevenson was a threat all night against an undersized, underexperienced and frankly underperforming Ireland A outfit who needed a yellow card to Luke Jacobson and string of penalties to even look like scoring in the first half – a far cry from the refined Irish side that made history earlier this year with a series win in Aotearoa.
It was the complete opposite for Stevenson and the All Blacks XV with the backline freewheeling for most of the evening behind All Blacks veterans TJ Perenara and McKenzie setting the tone and the forward pack containing the likes of Patrick Tuipulotu forcing turnovers left and right at the breakdown for more attacking opportunities.
Unlike the lacklustre kicking efforts of their seniors against Japan last week, the Leon MacDonald-coached All Blacks XV had a clear plan with the boot this morning and used it expertly to open the match as McKenzie stretched the Irish back three chasing territory and holes instead of height.
In the end, it led to the opening try of the match as McKenzie found Stevenson on the right wing with a cross kick that ironically looked like something you’d almost expect on an NRL field instead.
A driving maul finished by Brodie McAlister before a length-of-the-field counterattack finished off by Stevenson saw the lead balloon to 19-0 by 25 minutes and the men in black thought they were in with a fourth a short time later only for the referee to instead go back to a breakdown where Jacobson had cleared a player out with no arms, turning seven points into a one-man disadvantage instead.
While it took them a few attempts, Ireland A finally made good on the advantage with a try just before the break to leave the match at 19-7 at the half.
Stevenson took 30 seconds after the restart to put the All Blacks XV back in control with a superb run off the kickoff although it was Ruben Love that got to finish the play off.
It continued a refreshing sight for New Zealand rugby fans who this year have yearned for a more clinical performance from the All Blacks with clean ball handling, smart running and quick ball all on display in Dublin.
In fact, those skills then put Braydon Ennor and AJ Lam in to score as well as McKenzie continued to put forward his own case for the black No.10 jersey.
This morning marked McKenzie's first appearance in black this year after a stint playing club rugby in Japan and despite the time away he showed Ian Foster he's still a dangerous weapon with ball in hand, taking man of the match honours with his 17-point performance which he wrapped up with a late try.
Whether it's enough to gain Foster's favour remains to be seen as the countdown to next year's Rugby World Cup continues to tick but one thing that did prove itself this morning was the All Blacks XV concept.
Stevenson and McKenzie are case in point.
All Blacks XV 47 [Shaun Stevenson 2, Brodie McAlister, Ruben Love, Braydon Ennor, AJ Lam, Damian McKenzie tries; Damian McKenzie 6 con]
Ireland A 19 [Ciaran Frawley, Marty Moore, Max Deegan tries, Ciaran Frawley 1 con, Jack Crowley 1 con]
Halftime: 19-7
SHARE ME