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Graham Henry - Source: Photosport -
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After eight years, you'd think New Zealand would know a person, but in the case of the man in charge of the All Blacks you still don't know what you're going to get.
Sure, Graham Henry has "lightened up" over his reign - and is now even open to a joke or two - but generally when you're listening to the former school principal, you're dealing with a very complex individual.
In yesterday's seven-minute media session Henry went through a full cycle of emotions as he reflected on and deflected questions.
His demeanour was upbeat when he discussed the comebacks of Ali Williams, Wyatt Crockett and Adam Thomson and then joked with one reporter who brought up Liam Messam's fightback from a disastrous Test outing against France in 2009.
"You've got a good memory - haven't you," Henry said.
The humorous quickly turned into the ridiculous when he suggested the media should engage in social media to help Cory Jane's tackling technique.
"I think we should Twitter about Cory Jane's ability to tackle and for him to get his fingers in the right position...." Henry said in reference to his injured winger's 5000 plus tweets.
However there was no banter from Henry when asked about reasons for resting several of his Crusaders and Blues players.
"Some players in this team have played a lot of football and they wouldn't be able to maintain the high standards through the next few months," he said.
"They need to come off that high they have been on and then play some rugby that is the best of their careers.
"They wouldn't be able to do that if we kept on doing it week after week. I can see some people suggesting that should happen, which is absolutely ridiculous and thoughtless."
It was the sort of response that would make purists turn in their graves.
The handing out of Test caps to fringe All Blacks has always been a point of contention in New Zealand rugby but in 2011, when the likes of Kieran Read, Owen Franks, Keven Mealamu and Jerome Kaino have already played more than 16 matches, it is hard to argue with the policy.
If those four players were to play every Test match from now until October 23 - which is hopefully when the All Blacks compete in the World Cup final - they would finish the calendar year having played at least 28 high pressure matches.
Whether it is too much rugby or not enough is a moot point. Henry has already come up with formula he thinks will win the Rugby World Cup and rotation is part of that.
While he would never admit it, he is - to a lesser extent - doing what Jake White did with the Springboks in 2007.
White realised his charges needed to be mentally refreshed before entering a World Cup campaign. He didn't want them to peak too soon and he wanted them to hit their straps when it counted - and that wasn't through a meaningless Tri Nations series.
White's successor Pieter de Villiers is engaging in the same behaviour four years later and effectively running two teams.
While Henry won't (or can't) make the sort of wholesale changes his South African counterpart is, he has already hinted the Tri Nations will see all 30 (or rather 34) of his players used in some capacity - but it's unlikely the same XV will run on two weeks in a row.
Which is all well and good but come World Cup time Henry will need to be settled on his top XV. He can't make the mistake of rotating his players through pool matches like he did last time.
The All Blacks need to build throughout the tournament and then explode when the World Cup gets serious.
Even then he can't be guaranteed success. As Cardiff proved, you can't prepare 100% for the intangibles - whether it be refereeing errors or the unbridled passion of the opposition.
And whatever the outcome you can guarantee Henry, sink or swim, will have his own unique way of explaining it.
