If Graham Henry was feeling tense and clammy this morning before the semi-final against Australia, he did not show it. He may not have thrown around sweets as the France back-row Imanol Harinordoquy had done at a media conference the previous day but he did not sight questioners as if he had a rifle in his hand.
Henry was announcing the New Zealand team to face the Wallabies. Asked what he thought of Sunday's 9pm (9am BST) kick-off, he said: "I'm usually asleep by then; someone will have to wake me up."
"Are you a Kiwi, son?" he asked another inquisitor. "Just play it cool, hey." And to another, after Henry had talked about the value of experience, who inquired whether that meant he was a better coach now than four years ago when the All Blacks failed to get beyond the quarter-final stage, he issued the rejoinder: "I will be bloody good when I am 80."
There were times when Henry was in such a mood during his time as Wales coach between 1998 and the start of 2002. It was usually when he wanted to take the pressure off his players, attempting to convince the media that something significant was ordinary.
It will be no ordinary Sunday for Henry or the All Blacks. They stand on the verge of their first World Cup final since 1995 and their failed pursuits of the trophy since they won the inaugural tournament have come to define them far more than their customary position at the top of the world rankings.
Defeat is not an option. In one sense it does not matter that their closest rivals stand in their way, nor that the Deans factor adds heat to an already spicy dish. The keening here would be loud no matter who the All Blacks lost to in a semi-final; going down to Robbie Deans's Wallabies would make it a little louder and longer.
It is what is at stake, 20 years of heartache and pain that have turned the quest for the Webb Ellis Cup into an obsession, that prompted Henry to be jocular, rather than snappy.
"I think the Aussies are going to beat them, that is why I am wearing the flag," said a man in a wheelchair in a food hall a few hours after Henry's conference, touching his All Blacks' baseball cap. "I also hope Wales beat the Frogs: that is why I am wearing a red T-shirt." No one wants to tempt fate and even half-asleep you would sense the apprehension.
Form and the relative strength of the sides would point to a double figure victory for the All Blacks. Australia have not won at Eden Park since 1986 and lost at the ground against Ireland last month; no side have beaten New Zealand there in the professional era.
If it were a Tri-Nations match, Australia would be written off as outsiders, Deans or no. It is not. It is the World Cup. It is the third meeting between the sides in the semi-final. The All Blacks have yet to win one. The ghosts of the past are causing more anxiety than the Australia XV.
The Wallabies were one of the tournament favourites, based on a potent back division who included Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Digby Ioane, James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale but they lost to Ireland and beat South Africa despite spending most of the match in their own half.
Deans, like his fellow Kiwi Warren Gatland with Wales, has belied his uncompromising image by promoting young players, some of whom were not regulars for their Super 15 sides, and giving them licence to play.
Yet it is not Australia's attack who have taken them to the last four but their ability to withstand pressure. If defence wins World Cups, as Jake White maintained in 2007, then Australia and Wales are on course to meet in the final.
The Wallabies have conceded four tries in five matches, three against Russia in a blow-out, the first time they had conceded so many in a World Cup game since the play-off against Wales in 1987. Wales have leaked five, New Zealand seven and France 11.
Australia do not have an attacking scrum, their lineout has suffered and they failed in the matches against Ireland and South Africa to provide any sort of platform for their backs, both sides appreciating that while Cooper commanded attention from the media, the back who needed most watching was Genia.
The Wallabies do have David Pocock, the master of the breakdown. He did not play against Ireland, just as he missed the defeat to Samoa in July and the loss against Scotland at Murrayfield two autumns ago. He is one of the young players quickly promoted by Deans and, like Wales's Sam Warburton, is an inspiration to those around him.
Pocock may not be the captain of the Wallabies, and Warburton leads Wales only because Matthew Rees pulled out of the tournament with a neck injury, but like the Welshman he offers an example to those around him.
South Africa squawked loudly after the quarter-final defeat to Australia, complaining Pocock had been allowed to rewrite the rules at the breakdown. The referee Bryce Lawrence has become the hate figure there that Wayne Barnes was here four years ago, and a namesake in Auckland has been besieged by telephone calls from angry Springbok fans.
South Africa conveniently forgot about the latitude they were given as the attacking team at the breakdown by Lawrence. Their contention that the team who take the ball back into a tackle should get it back whatever, unless there is a clear case of holding on, is outdated. They need to move on.
Australia will need to defend again on Sunday. The All Blacks, even without Dan Carter, have a menacing back division: Ma'a Nonu, the superb Conrad Smith, Richard Kahui, Cory Jane and Israel Dagg with Sonny Bill Williams waiting on the bench.
Richie McCaw will have to be smart against Pocock given his foot injury, but Australia are unlikely to have as sympathetic a referee this weekend given that they are playing the hosts. If the All Blacks follow the lead of their coach, they will be uninhibited but this is semi-final weekend. No one remembers the losers, unless they are New Zealand.
