The Kiwis have touched down in Denver ahead of Sunday's (NZ time) test against England and have immediately launched into a meticulous recovery process to ensure they're primed and ready for the challenge ahead.
Measures were made to remedy all potential hazards of the demanding 18-hour flight to Colorado – from hydration plans to support around blood circulation and immunity, and of course, business class seating.
"I feel we've arrived ready," said team doctor Greg Macleod. "A good night's sleep will do us well, but considering how far we've come and what we had to do…we're pretty happy."
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The focus now shifts to getting the players back to a "normal physiological state" in which they can train effectively in the lead-up to the match, which Macleod says will be a delicately managed process involving food, water and sleep schedules.
"We're realistic about that. We're not going to run any records over today or tomorrow. We've got massages coming in today, guys are already on the table getting injuries right.
"Just making sure we know where guys are at physically before we stretch them too much….we'll know when the guys are ready for some decent intensity training."
With six year's experience working with Super Rugby sides, Macleod is well versed in the requirements of maximising athletes after travelling over such distances. That includes the impact of altitude on performance, a factor he says is overblown given Denver's relatively minor altitude of 1600m above sea level.
"If you look at the core aspects of it, it's very similar in terms of replicating a strategy we know works. We would've been silly not to do that."
"Johannesburg is well over 2000m, so we're half a km lower than that. Apart from understanding what there is to expect, we'll get that out of training and living.
"It's exactly the same for both teams….it's probably more of a pyschological factor than anything."
New head coach Michael Maguire said the buzz surrounding the test match at the 76,000-seater Mile High Stadium was clear to see, with plenty of banners hanging around town and expectations of a sizeable audience come game day.
"I've been told they're expecting a pretty decent crowd…20,000 plus and they're working for bigger than that, that so I imagine there's a bit of a following over here," said Maguire.
Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak expressed similar enthusiasm regarding what they may encounter and he's sold on the marketing angle.
"It seems like there's a good vibe around town," said the Panthers back. "I think they're promoting it as 'Big hits, no pads" too, which is pretty cool."
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