As the All Blacks disembarked, they grabbed a bumper and wheel arch each and started bouncing the offending vehicle. Several tonnes of metal were removed after a few minutes of muscle work.

Historically, things have tended to go one way. Due to New Zealand’s recent form, the price of that bet is even more skewed.

Their first-day defeat by France – a game they led until the 55th minute – has spurred them on to build a formidable momentum stealthily and steadily.

Under the Stade de France lights on Saturday night, New Zealand’s title credentials were even more compelling.

There was steel in their defense and scalpel-like accuracy in their attack in their quarter-final win over Ireland.

Ireland was nearly brought to a halt by their attack. As he and his team attempted in vain to find a way through the match’s epic final play, Johnny Sexton’s stride was down to a shuffle.

Irish territory was raided in a typically clinical manner. A deft chip from Beauden Barrett set up Leicester Fainga’anuku’s early score before Ardie Savea, playing stealthily from wide, sting Ireland at the end of a pre-planned line-out.

The Kiwis had only six entries into Ireland’s 22m, compared to 14 entries for New Zealand.

An impeccable foundation underpinned the entire performance. As far as line-out balls go, New Zealand performed flawlessly. During the handling process, they did not make a single mistake.