While there is obvious room for improvement, Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney is accentuating the positives of a number of new players making their mark on the international stage.
A full end-of-season review has been conducted in the wake of New Zealand's disappointing 12-20 loss to England on Sunday morning which sent it spiraling out of the Four Nations.
It was the end of a sub-par 2009 for the Kiwis in terms of results in the wake of their World Cup triumph in November last year.
It began with a comprehensive loss to Australia in May's Anzac Test, a big scare from Tonga in a one-off Test in Rotorua before a highly-promising draw against Australia, a romp over France and the loss to England in the Four Nations.
"It's important to review yourselves no matter what happens," Kearney said.
"We've had five Tests this year and, while there were pleasing aspects overall and especially over the last few weeks, the season obviously hasn't finished the way we wanted it to.
"We've identified some areas where we didn't quite come up to the standards we set ourselves. It's more about getting our processes to the point where they give us the chance to be our best for every match we play.
"In analysing what happened over the past month, it's clear our preparation could have been improved on. These days if you're just a little off the mark in terms of your preparation, it'll hurt you and we saw the effects of that against England.
"We know where we need to improve as a management group and the players also know what they need to do to ensure we continue to do all we can to build the culture we're striving for."
Six players made their Test debuts in 2009 – Junior Sau, Bryson Goodwin, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Ben Matulino and Kieran Foran.
Another two, Kevin Locke and Eddy Pettybourne, got to experience life on tour in a Test squad but are yet to make their debuts.
"The way the young players have handled themselves at this level over the last month has been one of the real highlights from the year," Kearney said.
"We had another two players on this tour who didn't have the chance to play a Test but the new boys we used did a terrific job for us.
"Those players made tremendous progress during the weeks we had together."
Planning is now well under way for 2010 and beyond. Already in focus are next year's Anzac Test, the Four Nations in Australasia and the following year's event as it returns to the northern hemisphere.
As part of their growth as individuals and as a group, five of the Kiwis management team, along with NZRL high performance director Tony Kemp, are due to visit English Premier League football giant Manchester United on Thursday.