The strains of Land of My Fathers echoing around the stands during the second half were of the canned music variety. And these All Blacks, too, were not quite what they seemed.
When the Wellington back Paul Steinmetz trotted on to the field in injury time, he became the 13th new cap of their autumn tour. But if the 2002 All Blacks had a green streak, their coach John Mitchell was never going to repeat England's mistake of four years ago when they travelled to New Zealand with players who, in rugby terms, were still riding with stabilisers.
Mitchell was assistant to Clive Woodward on that infamous tour and while the coach may have suffered moments of purgatory in losing to England and drawing with France, Welsh demons were never going to be exorcised here.
When Wales last beat the All Blacks there was still war-time rationing and here Steve Hansen's side lived on scraps. Theirs was a defiant performance, typified by Jamie Robinson's first-minute tackle on Jonah Lomu and the young Cardiff centre's thrilling dash for his early try.
But relentlessly Wales were worn down by the power of the young All Black pack and eventually, if late in the day, the gaps appeared for Tana Umaga and Doug Howlett, two of the stars of this past fortnight, to exploit.
Andrew Mehrtens, another of the older heads in this party who became on Saturday the third highest international points-scorer of all time, called the All Blacks an "extended family." Mitchell says he will chose a party of 26 from a current list of 47 after next year's Super-12 for return internationals against England, France and Wales. He is clearly choosing from strength and if England have had a golden autumn, the All Blacks could reap a profitable harvest in next year's World Cup.
From the 21-year-old Auckland lock Ali Williams, a player who only really took up the game four years ago, to the centre Regan King, there is a deep well of talent in the land of the long white cloud.
Mitchell said: "From February 24 to May 25, there'll be a huge window in Super-12 for players. There is an enormous amount of competition in this squad. Some of them will not play again, others here have shown special qualities."
Mitchell was too diplomatic to say it, since his captain was sitting next to him at the time, but Taine Randell will almost certainly be marching off into the sunset. A bruised hip was blamed for the captain's ignominious substitution nine minutes after the break but the All Blacks were significantly more effective with Marty Holah in place.
No one's place is sacrosanct and that applies even to Lomu, as subdued in Paris and Cardiff as he was brutally effective at Twickenham. As Jamie Robinson, bruise sprouting on his face, said: "It's painful tackling Jonah. Even when he's standing still he's dangerous."
