The Wallabies have handed their trans-Tasman rivals some uncomfortable rugby lessons in recent years, but now Australia appear to have helpfully given the All Blacks a template on how not to tour South Africa.
The Wallabies' winless two-test tour of South Africa, which ended yesterday with a 16-22 loss in the Tri-Nations match at Pretoria, was as notable for off-field controversies as their on-field shortcomings.
Halfback Matt Henjak's sending home after a drunken standoff with teammate Lote Tuqiri in a nightclub at 3.30am -- two days before the Mandela Challenge Plate test in Johannesburg on July 23 -- was gleefully dissected by local media keen to expose any slip-ups by touring teams.
Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor were both fined $A500 ($NZ560) for late night drinking while prop Matt Dunning received the same financial penalty for also being out inappropriately late the same night.
As if talk of infighting within the camp was not embarrassing enough, the Wallabies then invited more scorn when it emerged a team building exercise asked the players to write down which teammate they would eat and how they would prepare them.
The mock cannibalism exercise, held over dinner, was revealed when their notes were handed to The Cape Times newspaper by restaurant staff, prompting criticism for lampooning the actual fate suffered by a Uruguayan rugby team after their plane crashed in the Andes in 1972.
Before leaving for South Africa, coach Eddie Jones was confident the Wallabies were on the right track by basing themselves in Cape Town, a candidate as South Africa's most liberal city, for 10 days leading up to the test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
They flew to the match venue a day before the match and returned a couple of hours after the final whistle to keep their time in Johannesburg to an absolute minimum.
However, the hit-and-run approach to the high veldt backfired badly and the Wallabies were criticised here and at home for spending too much time in a relatively relaxing city with ample distractions.
In contrast, the All Blacks have not been lured by the delights of Cape Town and will only head there next Thursday after the bulk of their preparations have been carried out away from the spotlight at Umhlanga, a sedate seaside resort overlooking the Indian Ocean 20km north of Durban.
Umhlanga Rocks is considered one of the premier coastal destinations in South Africa but is deathly quiet in winter despite a dry, warm climate.
It is notable for its lighthouse, built in 1954, the O'Connor Promenade that winds along the beachfront and The Shark Board, an organisation that patrols and monitors nets set up far offshore to prevent shark attacks.