Internationals: It takes longer than 12 months to become a truly great side. In most sports, sheer weight of victories is the sole prerequisite; teams with a reputation built on fewer than two years of consistent achievement remain outside the hall of fame until they prove themselves men for all seasons.
Some of today's New Zealand line-up at Twickenham have barely been around long enough to master the haka.
Occasionally, though, teams impress for reasons other than sustained competitiveness or limitless appetite. International rugby has seen only a handful of examples in the past 100 years of sides who break the mould and change the way audiences think.
The 1971 Lions under Carwyn James were credited with transforming rugby in New Zealand; the 1984 Wallabies charmed a generation through the genius of Mark Ella and David Campese.
The current All Blacks need to win the 2007 World Cup to join such exalted company, but they are making the game look easier than anyone since professionalism took root. Of their past 14 matches, they have won 13 and topped 30 points on all but three occasions. A fresh, glistening sheen of immortality is forming on the famous silver fern.
Even former Kiwi legends are cheerfully tempting fate. "I'd say it's looking pretty ominous for everyone else," says Andrew Mehrtens, sounding less than brokenhearted.
Another impressed ex-All Black is John Kirwan, the most feared wing of his era. "I just wouldn't make the team these days. If you only do 10.5 seconds for 100 metres, you're slow."
From his selector's chair, Brian Lochore weighs up his unique 40-year association with New Zealand rugby and delivers his measured verdict.
"I don't think we've ever had a squad of 30 all performing to the level they attained in those first two tour matches."
On top of all this, New Zealand have just been asked to stage the 2011 World Cup. It is like asking the Big Bad Wolf to organise the world sheep-shearing championships. The crown prince of world outhalves, Dan Carter, will still be under 30; no wonder people say the future looks black.
The $64,000 question, though, is whether these All Blacks can withstand this sheer weight of expectation. Today is a big day for their front five, but this unit has already proved it has greatness in it. Their coach, Graham Henry, describes the 45-6 win over France in Paris a year ago as "a special night", and the black magic has not worn off.
Clive Woodward's Lions were not just beaten in the summer, they were pulverised 3-0. The subsequent Tri-Nations yielded more silverware, the solitary blip being a 22-16 defeat to a fierce South Africa in Cape Town.
Soon the old jibe about peaking between World Cups will be the only dart left in the Northern Hemisphere's armoury. No sooner had Wales been walloped 41-3 than Henry made 15 changes and sent out an alternative side that crushed Ireland 45-7.
There have been touring sides with depth, but never one that has proved it so conclusively on successive weekends.
Others are more effusive.
"Don't underestimate how much courage it takes, as a coach, to do what they did last week," insists Kirwan.
"In New Zealand they're not going to say 'thanks for trying' if you lose. What they've done is create internal competition and the guys are really happy. I was at lunch with some of them this week; they're really wellbalanced, intelligent kids. As a New Zealander, it really warms your heart."
It is a view echoed by all those prepared to remove their "spear-tackling thug" blinkers. "Even the non-players have been helping mates in their own positions," reveals Lochore, who led New Zealand 18 times. "You don't get great sides without team spirit."
In the England camp, there is total respect. Talking up the opposition is part of the game, but Phil Larder, England's defence coach, has a genuine regard for the attack he aims to frustrate.
"When you're analysing the All Blacks you find yourself thinking: 'Phew, I'm enjoying this.' They play a special brand of rugby. They do the basic skills at a higher level than anyone else. It's not as if they've got moves that no one else has - they just execute them perfectly."
It simply remains for New Zealand to secure what would be the first All Blacks Grand Slam since 1978 and only their second in 100 years. Mehrtens and Kirwan both expect them to beat England, leaving only Scotland in their path.
"If I'm Andy Robinson I'd be trying to frustrate the All Blacks into errors," says Kirwan. "But if the All Blacks swing it wide, wide, wide, you're in trouble."
Guardian Service
