England, the World Cup and Six Nations runners-up who came to New Zealand as the last team to defeat the All Blacks on home soil five years ago, were supposed to provide substantially more opposition than they did.

A tour where they were without an official head coach unsuccessfully tried to lay mental siege to the home team, and have had accusations of sexual misconduct levelled towards their players.  Martin Johnson, the English overlord, will be sitting at home with a fierce expression on his face.  For a tour that was supposed to provide some level of impetus, the world’s highest ranked Northern Hemisphere nation will be leaving with their tail wedged between their legs.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks have regained considerable face since their World Cup debacle, both to themselves and their critical public – and while they are far from the finished product, they have proved that they will firmly defend their Tri-Nations and Bledisloe crown.

Graham Henry responded by utilising the first official rotation of the year – and in theory weakened his team by ushering in three debutants and two positional switches. The team was then weakened considerably in the first half by losing their captain, the world’s premier openside Richie McCaw, and first-choice lock Ali Williams. 

While they need both men to compete in the Tri-Nations, this was also a blessing in disguise.  It allowed Sione Lauaki and Anthony Boric much-needed game time – but showed ominously that, despite a massive 2007 exodus and starting the second half fielding four debutants and six players with fewer than 20 Tests, they could still beat England by 32 points. 

This All Black team does not have the depth of recent vintages – but the player base is still there.  Few teams could lose their first-choice flanker and lock and not miss a beat.

Dan Carter is back to his best and again playing like the world’s premier fly-half – showing that maybe the NZRU’s sabbatical idea is actually misconstrued genius.  The All Black pack is still dominating, and players are stepping up to the mark, namely Neemia Tialata, Ma’a Nonu and Brad Thorn. 

The ghosts of 2007 are still here, but the All Blacks will mount a formidable challenge to the world champions in Wellington to usher in the planet’s toughest international tournament – the Tri-Nations – a competition featuring the world’s top three teams (with all respect to the Six Nations sides).

But New Zealand are not without their weaknesses.  For the first time in many years they have been challenged in the tackle ruck area, something the Springbok and Wallaby back rows will have noted.  Their lineout needs urgent attention, considering their Tri-Nations foes field the world’s best lineout jumpers.  And, as they have in the past, the All Blacks must learn not to switch off during games.  Whereas in the first Test it was in the first and last 20 minutes, it was more like an intermittent alteration in the second game, with New Zealand letting England dominate for periods. 

However, when the All Blacks do indeed fire, they are like a raging maelstrom – no doubt the most impressive attacking force in the game when on form. They have now won 28 consecutive games on home soil.

For England, it is indeed on paper the tour from hell; two Test losses where they should have conceded half centuries in both games.  But how different would the English have been had Jonny Wilkinson or Danny Cipriani been marshalling what was an inept backline.  While humbled in the scrums by a well-drilled All Black eight, they equalled the New Zealand pack in the ruck and tackle area, even being dominant statistically in the second Test. 

Matt Stevens especially was dominated by Tialata, Greg Somerville and Tony Woodcock – but the young English back row was particularly impressive, led by a herculean performance from Gloucester No.8 Luke Narraway.  However, despite some flashes on skill from wings Topsy Ojo and Tom Varndell, the backline was comprehensively outplayed by a smarter, clinical and more aggressive All Black division.

So England finish their season poorly, after exceeding their own expectations with a solid World Cup and Six Nations, and if anything, this tour will give Johnson the excuse to dish out a verbal barrage to his soon-to-be-named elite squad.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks have two weeks to prepare for the highly-anticipated clash with the world champion Springboks in two Tests in two weeks.  Despite the strong start to the season  by the world’s top two teams, little has been proved and there's much to be established when the titans clash. 

South Africa will wish to prove their World Cup win was no fluke, and the All Blacks will want to prove that they are still the world’s No.1 team.