The chance to scrutinise the new faces in the All Blacks squad may have been too tempting for the Springboks when the two teams boarded a flight together to South Africa last Sunday.
The All Blacks may be two tests deep into their season, but the mystery around who will play the Springboks at Johannesburg's Ellis Park on Sunday morning (NZ time) remains.
By omitting Dan Carter and Sonny Bill Williams, coach Steve Hansen must field a new playmaker in either Beauden Barrett, Colin Slade and Lima Sopoaga, as well as his third midfield combination.
The inclusion of the uncapped Sopoaga is intriguing. Is he there as an emergency back-up in case Barrett or Slade fall over, or will Hansen be keen to blood him? The decision to carry lock James Broadhurst also suggests he could be required in some capacity, perhaps off the bench.
No wonder, then, that when half the Springboks squad - who joined the All Blacks in their flight to from Sydney to Johannesburg after their 24-20 loss to the Wallabies in Brisbane - scrutinised how the new men measured-up in their All Blacks' travelling gear, they, like everyone else, were wondering what surprises Hansen has in store.
After the All Blacks' 39-18 win over Argentina last weekend, Hansen reinforced the importance of assessing versatile players before the World Cup. The selectors must be bold, he emphasised.
"We have got to get combinations, we have got to get versatility as well because you can't replace players in the World Cup [if they get injured] and use them again," Hansen stated. "Once you replace them they are gone."
This is a delicate balancing act.
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With just three matches left to assess his cattle, he may be tempted to start Barrett at first five-eighth and list Slade on the bench at Ellis Park. Both can cover fullback and Slade, as he proved when he replaced Waisake Naholo last weekend, is also efficient on the wing.
This would also allow the All Blacks to favour the policy of having two playmakers on the paddock in the second half.
This ploy worked well in the tour finale against Wales last year when Barrett dropped back to fullback - Ben Smith transferred to the right wing - to allow Slade to run at first-five later and play a crucial role in guiding them home.
Israel Dagg's impressive outing against Argentina may lock him into the fullback role again, with Ben Smith starting on the right wing.
Pairing Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith in the midfield would provide leadership and counterbalance the absence of veteran Carter.
Between them Nonu and Smith have played 180 tests, an intimidating figure that dwarfs the five caps earned by Springboks midfielders Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel, and they would also be familiar with the play of Barrett, a fellow Hurricane, if he were to start.
The power and fury of Williams and Nonu in the midfield was impressive against Argentina and Conrad Smith made encouraging noises about the depth in the overall 41-man squad.
"You could probably pick four or five guys and they would always go pretty well. Obviously the two [Williams and Nonu] did a good job," Smith said after a police escort rushed the team bus to their hotel. "It is what we expect every time we play."
The high-revved game plan, involving players releasing passes in the tackle, will be encouraged but not at any cost.
"It makes us difficult to break us down if we can offload in the contact or there or there abouts, we will keep using it," Hansen said. "We have just got to get better at when."
