Size matters in South Africa.
Touring other rugby destinations, the All Blacks might get away with some players of smaller stature filling out their forward pack.
Against the Springboks, not so.
The land of meat and monsters demands collisions are conquered.
Dave Rennie has seen enough through his six years coaching the Chiefs in Super Rugby, back when South Africa's five franchises were entrenched in the southern hemisphere, and with the Wallabies, where he enjoyed success against the world champion Springboks, to know the athlete profile and style that can compete. And he has selected his All Blacks squad accordingly.
A six week, eight match tour against the Boks is the toughest assignment the All Blacks - or any side for that matter - will undertake in the professional era.
There will be carnage, casualties and controversy.
But with Rennie at the helm, the All Blacks will arrive with eyes wide open.
Rennie's All Blacks are aware of the challenge but so, too, are they ready to meet it head on.
"We've got some guys who have played an enormous amount of footy in South Africa in Super Rugby a few years back and Test matches but a lot of new guys who it will be a bit of a shock for. We know the crowds, the altitude, will be a new experience for some guys so it's pretty exciting," Rennie said.
The All Blacks won't attempt to fight fire with fire in South Africa. Challenging the Springboks to a direct, confrontational, physical duel alone plays to their vaunted strengths.
Everyone witnessed the significant shifts the All Blacks made at home this month against France, Italy and Ireland where pace, width and ball movement were largely prioritised in the quest to overhaul their attacking stagnation.
There's no doubt the All Blacks will progress that vision and attempt to run the Boks off their feet. Without a front foot platform and stable set-piece, though, they don't stand a chance.
With that in mind Rennie this week underlined the foundations of his plans to blend speed with size and power.
The All Blacks will continue to refine their blueprint that proved successful against Ireland at Eden Park where Patrick Tuipulotu's injection to the second row and Tupou Vaa'i switching to blindside paved the way for a much more direct approach from the forward pack.
More kicking than in their first two Tests also helped shape Ireland's defence and blend attacking variety.
The added size element that helped transform the All Blacks against Ireland was evident again as Rennie added 10 players to form his 44-man touring squad for South Africa this week.
Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa is the tour bolter - the dynamic and damaging Moana Pasifika loose forward forcing his way in after impressing Rennie by beating more defenders, largely through the steamroll approach, than any other No. 8 in Super Rugby this season.
Tupou Ta'eiloa's ball carrying offers a point of difference the All Blacks are seeking to combat the hulking South Africans they know they will confront en masse.
Fellow rookie inclusion, Hurricanes prop Siale Lauaki, fits a similar mould.
Fabian Holland's return from shoulder surgery gives the All Blacks another huge human who will break back into the Test squad.
And with the likes of Asafo Aumua, who did not feature for the All Blacks last year due to injury, to unleash off the bench, Rennie is quietly crafting firepower of his own.
Tupou Ta'eiloa's rise - alongside Ethan Blackadder's recall - sparked an outcry around Du'Plessis Kirifi's continued exile.
Kirifi, as co-captain, led the Hurricanes to their first Super Rugby championship in a decade this season. His penchant for pilfering is a point of difference but his comparative lack of size - and his specialist openside status - leaves him on the outer looking in.
"We want to win, and we want to win each week. We're playing the best team in the world. It couldn't come at a better time for us," Rennie said.
"We've had a month together. We've made good shifts. We've got an understanding of our DNA and the game we want to play. We just need to get better and now we're going to get tested against a phenomenal side on their home pitch.
"We'll focus on it a game at a time. I guarantee these boys will empty the tank each week."
Rennie's All Blacks have gleaned the lessons from their predecessor's last tour to the Republic, when John Hart's incomparables recorded their first series success in South Africa 30 years ago.
Rennie had coffee with Hart during the Irish Test week to absorb his insights and 15 members of the 1996 All Blacks mingled with the current squad at a function before they embark on a similar, if not more arduous tour.
"What they achieved back then was phenomenal. Tours back then were a little different. You had four genuine mid-week games, and you end up with a mid-week side and Test team.
"Ours is different. Everyone will play in the first three games and then we've got an extra one after the first Test, but the lessons are similar.
"The Springboks are phenomenal, aren't they? They made so many changes against Scotland, who are an excellent side, and they were still able to dominate that game. Rassie [Erasmus] has done an unbelievable job over the last eight years. He's probably the most innovative coach. He's incredibly influential too. They've done a good job around World Rugby.
"We know they'll be very detailed and planned. They would've watched our series closely. He's used a lot of players. We know a fair bit about them. They've got amazing depth. It's exciting, a good challenge for us. We'll learn a lot about ourselves over the first three weeks leading into that first test."
