The All Blacks may be rolling out much of their World Cup artillery but there is still an element of caginess to Graham Henry's approach to the clash against France.

The French have done their part to add intrigue to a contest that hasn't quite fired the public's imagination by including 11 new caps in a virtual `C' team.

Henry obviously hasn't taken that tack although several of his first choice players are either nursing niggling injuries or in reserve for the second test in Wellington next weekend.

But there is still interest in how a traditionally rusty side hit the ground -- and what tactics they will employ in this and the six other tests preceding their Cup curtain raiser against Italy in Marseille on September 8.

Henry has already challenged his players to improve 25 per cent on last year's impressive season and the introduction of new moves and options will be central in achieving that goal.

But like rival Cup contenders the All Blacks coaching staff are wrestling with the dilemma of how much new innovation to show -- and when.

Assistant coach Wayne Smith admitted it was one balancing act the brains trust were pondering ahead of what should be three relatively untaxing test matches -- the other is against Canada -- before the Tri-Nations.

Conventional wisdom suggests two pathways: refine the moves at training sessions until the play-off stage or the World Cup or work on perfecting the new styles from the outset.

However, Smith said the All Blacks had a foot in both camps.

"There is one school of thought which says you have to rehearse it, fine-tune it and be executing it well before you can use it and there is another school of thought which says do it at training but don't bring it into matches," he said.

"We're probably not one or the other, we're both.

"We'll execute sometimes. If you look at last season you can see patches of different sorts of games and that is probably to try and become good at something you haven't been good at it in the past."

Smith refused to divulge if any surprises were in store tomorrow but it is unlikely given the team have only been in camp since Sunday.

Henry, his backs coach, Smith, and captain Richie McCaw have preached the need to get back to basics this week so the players have not had to assimilate a wealth of new information.

Instead Smith said off the training paddock, the team had been busy absorbing the calls and options that served them so well last season.

"There's better recall this year than last year," he said.

"They've come in with the attitude of doing your homework."

Each of the 31 squad members has been given a play book, while Smith has been working since Christmas to animate moves for study via computer during video analysis sessions.

That is also a work in progress as opposition teams occasionally succeeded in deciphering the All Blacks calls so the names and signals have been altered.

"I'm not sure if I'm paranoid or not but I felt halfway through the Tri-Nations the Australians were picking a couple of our calls just by the way they were defending," Smith said.

"You just have to stay on top of that all year because the analysis systems are pretty sophisticated."

Smith admitted the All Blacks systems were not extensive enough to build a dossier on the new French faces and their unpredictability was a concern.

"When you play the French you have to expect the unexpected. You have to go out and use your eyes and communicate and adapt to what's happening," he said.

"That's especially the case this week because they have individuals in there who are going to do something different to the guys we have played previously."

French coach Bernard Laporte would be better briefed on the All Blacks after New Zealand's two test victories in France last November.

"I'm certain Bernard knows us pretty well," Smith said.

"The quality of information counts to a certain degree but it'll come down to the fundamentals and how well, how aggressively and how passionately we execute -- and how accurately we execute."