The All Blacks rounded off their preparation for the Rugby World Cup by taking down a side called the Auckland Barbarians. This team was made up of Auckland and North Harbour club rugby players, but gave the Men In Black an opportunity to get some bumps and bruises against opposition other than themselves.

This highly-publicised unique build-up for the World Cup favourites will remain in question until it either proves itself in France or fails miserably. The ideas behind internal closed-doors build-up is a continuation of the Reconditioning Programme used during the Super 14.  It stems from a belief that they could get a better build-up against their own squad members than other overseas teams.

For the record, they played two 50-minute matches in front of 2,000 spectators. The score is largely irrelevant but intrigues the trainspotter amongst us with expectant victories by 79-0 and 69-0. No All Blacks received injuries during the game. Three players sat it out, with Reuben Thorne, Andy Ellis and Keith Robinson nursing knocks, while Greg Somerville and Neemia Tialata returned successfully from injury.

'It provides an amazing opportunity for everyday players to tell their grandchildren they played the All Blacks'

This match and the earlier New Zealand Police preparation game end a unique build-up for the World Cup. It provides an amazing opportunity for everyday players to tell their grandchildren they played the All Blacks. While the level of opposition isn't as high as other international sides are getting in their friendlies, there is a fine line between being match fit and burned out. The All Blacks leave on Wednesday for Corsica before taking on Italy on September 8.

In other New Zealand news, All Black Ali Williams has signed for Tasman in a shonky deal. Williams had problems with Blues coach David Nucifora during the Super 14 where he received extremely limited game time. The rift has seen him move south to play Super 14 for the Crusaders. The controversy arises when he will probably not actually play for Tasman; instead, it is likely he will be loaned to Canterbury for the Air New Zealand Cup. This is abuse of the system and is similar to the Rico Gear deal which Tasman did three years ago.

The salary cap was introduced to the Air New Zealand Cup so that the big provinces couldn't stockpile players by offering the carrot of an assured Super 14 contract. It seems like Gear and Ali Williams will be loaned/given to Canterbury, who will be a more successful Air New Zealand Cup side, giving him more chance to impress. This goes against the spirit of the competition and shows what a sham this competition has become. It leaves a sour taste in the mouth for the smaller unions who have less resources and are trying to become increasingly competitive.