Lynn McConnell in Wellington
Losses of captain Richie McCaw and experienced players overseas have resulted in the All Blacks going into the Tri Series opener against South Africa in Wellington in an unknown phase.
Apart from the comparative inexperience in the side, there was also new ELVs coming into use for the first time, especially at lineouts.
Coach Graham Henry said: "There's a large number of players in the squad who have not had long careers in the All Blacks, and could well have, so I think it is just a case of how these fellows are going to handle the demands of playing South Africa."
Seeing how the team coped with that challenge would be one of the interesting facets of the Test, he said.
The lineouts would be a 'wee bit' of an unknown as nobody had played under these laws before at international level, he said.
"You're not quite sure how the opposition are going to work in that area, what their focus is.
"I think a lot of it is going to be how you respond to what you see on the track. It's a totally different situation that none of us has ever experienced before and I think being able to react on the hoof in the heat of the battle is going to be very important," he said.
Henry said that generally the ELVs had not changed the basics of rugby, the scrummage, the lineout, the ball retention and the ball presentation.
What was still a concern was the tackled-ball area where players needed to be aware of their requirements and referees needed to be accurate in their rulings.
Efficiency on all parts would result in an increase in spectacle to be seen.
"It comes back to the same skills we used to have but with a bit more pressure on them," he said.
All Blacks captain Rodney So'oialo wasn't surprised by the confidence evident in the Springboks camp for the game.
They had every cause to be confident having come off their World Cup win last year and the three good games they had played in their lead-up to this Test.
"We've prepared pretty well too and we're ready to see what the Springboks have to offer," he said.
Henry said the statistical achievements of the All Blacks side were not something that were the centre of a lot of attention.
They were probably likely to mean more in 10 years time, he said.
"I didn't know it had been 29 games since they had been beaten at home until I read about it this week. I knew the All Blacks hadn't been beaten at home since 2003, I didn't know the number of matches.
"We try and play well in every Test, every Test is important to the All Blacks and that's what you concentrate on. Those things are in the background and they are good things to have, it's a fine record, but it is not what we focus on," he said.
Staying in the now and concentrating on the next match was the key point for all the players and records didn't come into it, he said.