The All Blacks looked impressive against a determined Ireland team and an England outfit who were the highest-ranked Northern Hemisphere nation and World Cup and Six Nations runners-up. 

There was no doubt that the Irish were up for the challenge and their form on their recent tour was as strong a performance as the team from the Emerald Isle had provided in a long time. 

The Rose of England, mismanaged as they were, did look impressive up front and their forwards did stand up and challenge the All Black engine room. The New Zealanders lost the lineout battles, but dominated an English pack that carried their team to a World Cup final.

The All Blacks now boast a world record 28 Test match home winning record (29 if you include the Pacific Island clash). Graham Henry officially boasts the best coaching record of any international coach in history, with 45 wins and six losses for a staggering 89 percent winning record. 

The All Blacks will approach this Tri-Nations as champions, looking to record a fourth straight championship and their ninth overall. The Springboks and Wallabies have won the title twice each. They have also held the prestigious Bledisloe Cup since 2003, and will record the second-longest consecutive run of wins in history if they defeat the Wallabies in the four-Test series this year.

In the Henry era, the All Blacks hold a 6-3 record over the Springboks, who have not beaten New Zealand at home since 1998. They have a 7-2 record over the Wallabies, who have not recorded victory in New Zealand since 2001.

Impressive reading, no doubt, but it is realistic to say that this is now a wounded All Black beast, and that the Springboks especially – as well as the Wallabies who have been rebuilding for some time – both have arguably more depth than this New Zealand team.

The halcyon days of two years ago are past, where the All Blacks strode the planet as the most dominant rugby force of all time. But it will be to their great Tri-Nations opponents' detriment if they sense that they can easily defeat the All Blacks.

Of course, their talisman, their captain, and the world’s premier openside flanker, will miss the opening of the competition. Richie McCaw’s presence will be missed – and as the series against Wales proved, the lack of a class fetcher will inhibit the team’s ability to compete with the brutality of a Springbok back row.

Unlike previous clashes, Dan Carter is the only player who can claim on-field superiority against his respective opponents. His form in the recent month has been nothing short of godlike – and it is his control of the game that will ensure that no team can dominate the All Black unit.

However, as proven against competitive Irish and English scrums, the All Black front row again looks to be world class, despite the retirement of the goliath Carl Hayman. In the locks, the All Blacks concede advantage to the menace of Victor Matfield, and to the jumping excellence of Nathan Sharpe and Dan Vickerman. The loose forward combinations, McCaw’s absence aside, is the one area where the three Southern giants are all but equal and equally destructive at the ruck.

In the halves, despite Carter's governance, the All Blacks are wielding untested No.9s, as are the Wallabies since the retirement of George Gregan. The Springboks hold dominance in this area although first-choice Fourie du Preez will be missing.

In the centres, the All Blacks appear to have finally have found closure to the retirement of Tana Umaga – with Ma’a Nonu coming of age this season, and Hurricanes partner Conrad Smith and Waikato’s Richard Kahui finally fulfilling recent promise. While Jean De Villiers and Stirling Mortlock could claim superiority in the inside/outside centre positions,  the lack of experience in the outside/inside collaborators could be a weakness against their top-level antagonists.

In the threequarters, the All Blacks would again find themselves matched by their SANZAR enemies – but with the advantage that New Zealand rugby has long been an attack-styled operation, while both the Springboks and Wallabies have recently not been known as threequarter protagonists.

The All Blacks will not suffer too much for the loss of McCaw, as there still is depth in New Zealand rugby, but they will not be the same team, as their rivals would not be without John Smit or Mortlock. 

While it is still to be tested, the All Black hybrid of 2008 has shown that, despite international exodus, they have not strayed from their tested game plan of recent years, where the Springboks and Wallabies have differed their traditional styles. John Connelly moved to a forward-orientated style, and Peter De Villiers is trying to employ a expansive style of attack.

While their lineout is curiously weak, there is no other facet of their game that is fragile. Their scrum is arguably the most powerful in world rugby, and they are abrasive at the tackle and ruck area.  They wield genuine running forwards, and their backline is always dangerous. Not only is Carter the form fly-half of world rugby, but a class kicking option.

Confidence will be the factor – they will either be hungry to avenge World Cup woe against the world champions, or they will still be doubting their own ability.