Physicality has been put ahead of polish.
Eight years ago the All Blacks emerged from the pool stages of the 2007 World Cup in France underdone and coach Steve Hansen is clearly determined not to make the same mistake twice.
Hansen's master plan has become clearer over the past two weeks as the All Blacks have been impelled to explain their patchy form against Namibia and Georgia.
Loose forward Jerome Kaino says New Zealand have not put out a performance of "All Blacks standard" during their opening three matches at the Rugby World Cup.
What has also become clear as Tonga blips onto the horizon is that the coaches have placed more importance on hardening their men physically and equipping them mentally for the knockout rugby to come, than playing error-free rugby during pool play.
With so much talent, they are confident the missing skill execution and timing will take care of themselves when they roll out the game plan they've been practising behind the scenes.
Being battle hardened for the intensity of desperate tier one opponents, on the other hand, can only be gained by putting the players' bodies regularly through the wringer and testing their ability to adapt under pressure.
All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster believes the side are in "a good spot" as they prepare for their final Rugby World Cup pool match against Tonga.
"Physically our trainings are some of the hardest we've done in my time in the All Blacks over the last month," prop Ben Franks said from the team's plush Darlington hotel.
While media have been limited in what they can view at trainings during the tournament, it has been notable that at least once a week the players are fully strapped and taped as they would be on match day.
Players with even minor niggles, Sonny Bill Williams (flu), Waisake Naholo (leg) and Charlie Faumuina (hamstring) on Tuesday, have not been risked for the fully opposed sessions.
The All Blacks have obviously tried to manufacture physicality in their past two matches. Against Namibia they mauled for 30 metres from the kick off. Against Georgia halfback Aaron Smith tapped and went at every opportunity and kicking was kept to a minimum.
The aim may well have been to create the sort of up-tempo broken play rugby they may be forced to play if they fall behind on the scoreboard in a knockout match.
What the All Blacks didn't quite plan for was just how physical and tactically diverse their lowly pool opponents would be at a World Cup where the second tier teams have showcased their improvement.
"Just reading through their team lists before the game, all their players are professional, they either play in France or a different league around the world," Franks said.
"They are exposed to more rugby and they are big guys. From a forward point of view they are very strong, they are still men and scrums, lineouts all contact areas aren't too far off, if not similar to what we get playing the likes of South Africa … it's just really the speed that's a bit different."
So while the viewing public have fretted about the team's struggles, the players and coaches have seen them as an unexpected bonus in a pool they'd expected to be less challenging.
Not only have the matches been physical, but they have also thrown up some tactics, particularly in defence and at scrum time, that the All Blacks expect to encounter during the knockout phase.
"It's been a physical couple of games for us to be fair and I think they [Tonga] will continue that," assistant coach Ian Foster said.
"That puts us in a good stead going forward. They are going to try to do some things to us that we think some other teams might do to us later on, so it's good preparation from that side."
For all that the All Blacks know Tonga represents their last chance to put a stake in the sand and confirm, mostly to themselves, that everything will click when they roll out their full game plan in the quarterfinal
"We know we haven't put out a performance that's All Blacks standard and that's kept us grounded," blindside Jerome Kaino said. "It keeps us focused on the now."
