While the All Blacks' Iveco Series tests against France and Italy have been marked by disappointing performances and a lack of fluency there has been the occasional bright-spot.
And few would argue the performance of All Black number 1088, Isaac Ross, has been the biggest beacon of all.
Ross, son of former All Black lock Jock (who played five games in 1981), was a stand-out for the Crusaders as they made the Super 14 semi-finals and the absence of the injured Ali Williams elevated him into a black jersey.
The lock made his debut in the first-up loss to France in Dunedin beside his experienced Crusaders team-mate Brad Thorn, but it was in last night's test against Italy in which he really showed his mettle.
Ross scored his first New Zealand try in front of his home crowd and put in a performance that belied his international inexperience.
He coped with an apparent eye-gouge from Italian captain Sergio Parisse and broke a number of tackles to help set-up Crusaders team-mate George Whitelock for a dream debut try, drawing praise from forwards coach Steve Hansen.
"He's shown us he's going to be a tidy rugby player and as he gets older and stronger and a little bit wiser he's going to be world-class I think."
But any personal praise was put to the side as the New Brighton Rugby Club representative analysed the sub-par performance of the All Blacks.
"We didn't start like we wanted to. We got a good shake up at half-time and we came out in the second half firing a bit better. But heading into the Tri Nations we can't leave it to half-time to start playing," Ross said.
"The boys are just so eager to play and try and prove a point. But you've got to play basic rugby. You can't start playing in your own half. You've got to get territory and start playing in their half to start getting momentum.
"It was just basic errors and we've just go to fix that to move forward."
Ross said he enjoyed running out on his home track but said international rugby was a different beast to the fixtures he faced in a Crusaders jersey.
"It's definitely more physical than Super 14. You've just got to roll your sleeves up and the game will start to open up. But that tough stuff you've got to do first and do well or else you're going to be in trouble."
The 201cm, 115kg lock now has three weeks to rest and prepare for the Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park on July 18, and he's confident ahead of the campaign.
"I think we've got a good system in place that we can move forwards into the Tri Nations."
All Blacks fans will be hoping his words prove as wise as his All Black selection has proved to be.
