Just in case England needed reminding of the task facing them at Twickenham on Saturday, the announcement of the New Zealand team yesterday rammed it home.
Even the deliberate way in which John Hart, the All Blacks coach, read out the names hinted at an extra-special confrontation, not least his confirmation that Jonah Lomu will start on the left wing.
After his two-try salvo against Tonga in Bristol, there was never much chance of Lomu being held back as an impact substitute. The memories of what he did to England in the opening quarter of their last World Cup meeting in Cape Town, apart from anything else, left Hart with no real alternative. Not being the sort of coach to miss a psychological trick, he duly endorsed his choice by insisting Lomu is a better player now than he has ever been.
"Our policy has always been quite clear that Jonah would get in the team when his form warranted it. He's had a difficult year, he didn't show a lot of form early, but I believe we've now got him fitter than we've ever had him. He's a far more mature player than he was a year ago."
Even so, Hart and his lieutenants know the battle will hinge this time on what happens in front of Lomu. If New Zealand are to reverse the Twickenham effect, which has yielded just one win in their last four visits, their forwards are going to have to dig deep against a home side whom Hart rates as more formidable than any England team he has experienced.
"It's going to be very significant," said Hart, referring to the clash of the two packs. "I think they're the best pack in the competition and I thought they got their act together superbly against Italy. It's where the competition will be won and lost.
"They're certainly developing a more expansive game but it's all around the pack. Their strength is in the set-pieces and the running of Dallaglio and Hill, although they've shown the ability to keep the ball alive and use it well."
The only change in the All Black side is in the front row where Craig Dowd will replace Kees Meeuws, who is suffering from a calf strain. With Carlos Spencer returning to New Zealand today for an operation on his damaged knee ligaments, Otago's Tony Brown is elevated to the bench.
Both Dowd and the vice-captain Jeff Wilson will be winning their 50th caps, although Hart is keen to suggest there will be more pressure on England prior to a match which will determine which of the pair avoid a quarter-final play-off just four days before a likely last-eight showdown with South Africa in Paris.
"England have talked about this game for 12-15 months. Clive Woodward has talked it up for a long while and I think probably there is more pressure on England than there is on us. It's not a final. It's a qualifying game. I'd only say the World Cup will be won on November 6th. But it's an important game. We understand that."
Even so there was a hint of genuine admiration in Hart's tone when the master of pre-match mind games set out his opinions on England. "I think we're playing a team in the peak of fitness. I don't believe I've seen an England team fitter. They are well-prepared, well-selected and as strong as they have ever been.
"I think we face the biggest challenge any All Black side has ever faced playing England at Twickenham. That's the magnitude of the game." For a second it was tempting to imagine Hart was speaking from the heart. Woodward, of course, will not be so easily fooled.
