New Zealand’s greatest strength as a side is their ability to negate the greatest strength of whatever team they face. A degree of machismo might help this trait, but it is certainly more to do with razor-sharp tactical acumen.

The All Blacks will have watched the British and Irish Lions’ warm-up matches prior to Saturday’s series-opener and identified Warren Gatland’s most potent weapon - a confrontational defensive system implemented by Andy Farrell and hinging on aggressive line-speed.

Line-speed requires organisation. Organisation requires time. The best means of taming the Lions would be to rush them, make them re-set as often as possible.

A punchy, narrow approach in phase-play with plenty of rucks and quick ball retention was clearly the gameplan New Zealand settled upon. And they executed it with exceptional finesse.

Redefining ‘one-out runners’

‘One-out runners’ - players taking the ball into contact and going to ground after receiving a pass from the acting scrum-half following a breakdown or a set-piece - has almost become a derogatory term, synonymous with brainless, bash-it-up rugby.