Ireland's attempt to storm fortress Eden Park dictates the pressure sits squarely on Dave Rennie's All Blacks this weekend.
Eden Park, with its 32-year, 52-match unbeaten status for the All Blacks, evokes a level of comfort no other venue can match.
Collective and individual confidence is derived from the familiar changing rooms, to the largest sporting crowd New Zealand can draw to the many historic feats achieved on the turf.
Yet so, too, does that weighty history demand standards and records are upheld.
Scott Robertson's All Blacks tenure did not meet expectations, which culminated in New Zealand Rugby cutting his contract two years short.
For all the frustrations, though, Robertson's All Blacks improved Eden Park's record - the longest active unbeaten tier one streak at a single venue that includes victories against every major nation and a World Cup title - by beating England, Argentina, the world champion Springboks and the Wallabies.
Those victories weren't all convincing by any stretch.
The All Blacks needed a match-winning cameo off the bench from Beauden Barrett to overcome England, and Ardie Savea to pull off a defining breakdown penalty while defending his line in the tense closing minutes against the Springboks to cling on and celebrate his 100th Test.
Since the All Blacks' last defeat at Eden Park to the French in 1994, Ireland have been seen off four times.
This weekend the responsibility falls on Rennie's All Blacks to continue that theme and ensure the beacon of New Zealand rugby's success is preserved.
Two-and-a-half weeks into Rennie's tenure there is widespread recognition that the All Blacks remain in the developmental phase as they attempt to fast-track game plan and personal shifts from the Robertson regime.
But with a gruelling eight match tour - that includes the fourth Test against the Springboks in Baltimore - of South Africa looming large following their third Nations Championship Test, Rennie's All Blacks can't afford to confront such a daunting assignment on the back of their fallen fortress.
The great modern rivalry with Ireland therefore promises to provide an early litmus test for Rennie's budding All Blacks era.
The All Blacks have won their last three against Ireland to restore some order to their historic dominance but a 6-5 record in their favour speaks to the respect the tourists have cultivated since their breakthrough victory in 2016.
The feuds and fallouts between these teams in that time only heighten anticipation for another iteration this weekend.
A rescoping run that includes the 2023 World Cup quarterfinal upset in Paris, breaking Ireland's 19-match unbeaten home record in Dublin in a year later and a comfortable win in Chicago last November has turned the table for the All Blacks.
The demons of Ireland's series success in New Zealand remain front of mind this week, though.
Four years is not nearly long enough to banish those nightmares - and the shrapnel which claimed two All Blacks assistant coaches and left Ian Foster fighting to retain his post.
Successive wins in Dunedin and Wellington - after dropping the first Test at Eden Park - propelled Ireland to their unprecedented 17-match winning run, only for the All Blacks to crush their World Cup dreams with the rousing World Cup quarterfinal triumph.
"No doubt that will come up," Rennie said of Ireland's last New Zealand tour this week. "There's a healthy amount of respect for the Irish. They'll come in genuinely believing they can beat us. There's no doubt this game will be massive for them.
"They're a quality side. They've got a lot of strong connections, a lot of guys who play an enormous amount of footy together over the last few years and they're very well coached, so they'll be well prepared. Their forwards have got a good short passing game. They'll ask lots of questions of us there, and at set-piece."
Ireland aren't the team they were at the peak of their rise before the 2023 World Cup. Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Johnny Sexton in their backline; Andrew Porter, Peter O'Mahony and Caelan Doris up front are all absent.
Andy Farrell's men finished second in this year's Six Nations after claiming the Triple Crown - losing only to France in Paris - but they arrive in New Zealand following an unconvincing win over the Wallabies, before their second-string side overcame Japan, and with pressing questions about whether they have regenerated enough.
Bookending their year by tearing down Eden Park's fortress status would drastically alter the complexion of Ireland's season, but they are rank outsiders with the bookies, and therefore have nothing to lose.
Ireland strike Rennie's All Blacks at an opportune time, though. While their attack-first mantra offers promise, and there is no shortage of weapons to unleash, growing pains are widely evident after two patchy wins against the heavily weakened French and Italy.
Skill execution, attacking balance, defence, discipline all require improvement. Concerns remain around the All Blacks' ability to defuse the high ball, too, and questions persist about their best blindside flanker and centre.
If there's one advantage Rennie can tap into it's Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane, the latter recalled to the squad this week as outside back injury cover, after their respective six-month stints with Leinster, the powerhouse Irish club that has long provided the backbone of the national team.
Farrell runs his own cutter with Ireland but just as Joe Schmidt harvested inside oil for Foster's All Blacks in 2023, Rennie could well extract gold from Barrett and Ioane.
"We had a leaders meeting last night and did get him to confirm some of our thoughts," Rennie said of Barrett. "A lot of our guys have played the Irish a lot. They know a lot about them. The boys watch a lot more northern hemisphere footy than they might've [had] half a dozen years ago. The Irish have commanded a lot of respect through what they've achieved. We know what's coming, and we'll have to be very good in a lot of areas."
Whether it's another match-turning bench cameo or defining Savea penalty, the All Blacks will this week seize victory against their great foes at their spiritual home by any means.