Today will, for the first time this century, see an All Black side line up at Murrayfield without Richie McCaw in its ranks, but it also has the next best thing to their two-time World Cup winning captain in the shape of his long-time international and Canterbury Crusaders team-mate Kieran Read.

There had been some doubt about the No.8’s involvement due to what was initially reported as being a groin problem, then turned out to be a hip flexor injury, but on the eve of the match he was matter-of-factly describing the problem as simply having been “a process to get through.”

Which is not a bad way of describing his team’s approach to international rugby as emotions are swept aside in favour of going about the business of winning sports matches, something they do better than any team on the planet.

In this case it might be slightly more difficult for Read to do that since it was at Murrayfield in 2008 that he made his international debut and he naturally has fond memories of the place and the occasion.

“I really love the ground, the people and the atmosphere as well. I love getting piped into the ground, the whole thing. Firstly, I remember thinking just trying not to fall over – because it was pitch black when I ran out. I was thinking: ‘Oh, this wouldn’t be a good look, in my first Test!’” he laughed. “After that, it went pretty quick and I was pretty excited.”

As he reminisced there were warm words for Scotland’s captain that day, Jason White, saying: “He was an awesome man who played a lot of Tests for Scotland. He gave me his jersey, which I was pretty stuck with.”

Read’s own presence in that side was indicative of the All Black attitude to Scotland in those days, those matches very much an opportunity to give up and coming players a taste of international rugby. Now, at 32, he is established as one of the all-time greats of the game, a two-time World Cup winner in his own right who has captained New Zealand more often than any man other than McCaw and Sean Fitzpatrick, 33 times in all.

His principal task, on taking over permanently in 2015 having frequently stood in when McCaw was injured or rested in the previous three years, was to maintain standards and that generally means keep things uncomplicated, ensuring that his players understand what they will be up against every time they take the field and what is expected of them.

“Look, we always want to be a ruthless side and put teams away,” said Read. “Test matches aren’t supposed to be easy. It’s different, depending on who you play, but, with the majority of the teams we play, they play one of their best games of the season against us. Look, we’ve just got to be disciplined and try to stick to our game plan for the full 80. If we do that, we give ourselves a good chance of winning. If we can also perform a lot better than, say, in the second half last weekend, we will certainly be happy.”

Having been among those rested for the 2104 match in which Scotland ran a largely second string All Blacks side close, Read is anticipating a tougher challenge from their hosts than on any of his previous visits to Murrayfield.

“They’ve advanced immensely. As a side, I certainly respect them for how they came through the World Cup in ’15,” he said. “Over the last couple of years, they’ve probably not had the results – in terms of placing – that they deserve. They’re playing an attacking brand of footy, they got a win against the Aussies… so, yeah, they’re right up there.”

No All Black of Read’s standing is unaware of the rugby heritage he is representing and he is consequently very conscious of the fact that no New Zealand side has ever lost an international match to Scotland.

“We’re certainly aware of that record. For us, you want to try to preserve that as much as you can,” he said. “If we turn up and show the respect to the Scottish team that they deserve, the performance will hopefully show that tomorrow..”

He says so with the perspective of a captain who is seeking to avoid an unhappy double, since it was little more than a year ago that he led the first All Black team to lose to Ireland, but he insisted that there was no significance to be attached to that.

“Look, as an All Black team, it doesn’t matter who we play – we always aim to win,” he said.

“A record is a record. We just go out and play. We always feel like we want to do it justice, as an All Black team.”