Scott Robertson afforded himself a generous "good pass mark" following two shaky victories against England to open his All Blacks tenure. Reflecting on the start of this new era, after the All Blacks completed their first month under Robertson with their United States excursion to blow away Fiji, that grade can be tentatively upgraded.
Let's start with the glass-half-full approach.
Attempting to replace a swathe of influential post-World Cup departures - Richie Mo'unga, Sam Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Brodie Retallick, Dane Coles, Shannon Frizell - and chart the largest All Blacks management overhaul in two decades was never going to be easy.
Set against the backdrop of a compressed timeframe Robertson's anxious, conversative start against a resurgent England side was understandable.
That the All Blacks emerged from two fraught Tests against England spoke to their resilience much more than the quality of their performances.
In Dunedin the All Blacks were fortunate English playmaker Marcus Smith had an off night with the boot. And in Auckland, fortress Eden Park could well have crumbled had Beauden Barrett not produced his match-winning, back-to-the-future masterclass off the bench. Against England there were limited standout areas Robertson's All Blacks could promote. The scrum, though, is one.
Over the last two years the All Blacks have developed a cohort of world-class props to the point they are confident of challenging any front-row in the game. Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot lead the charge in a platform the All Blacks will embrace, in times of trouble and triumph, as a genuine weapon.
With Fletcher Newell, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Tamaiti Williams and rookie heavyweight Pasilio Tosi among their support acts, the All Blacks propping power is now among their greatest assets.
The irony of Robertson's All Blacks is they will be just as content scrummaging for success as they will fulfilling their reputation as the game's great entertainers.
The other major positive to emerge from the third July Test is the boarding passes dispatched to Tosi, Hurricanes centre Billy Proctor, Crusaders halfback Noah Hotham, Chiefs No. 8 Wallace Sititi, Blues lock Sam Darry and Crusaders hooker George Bell.
Across the two Tests against England Robertson steadfastly favoured experienced, making one injury-enforced change to the starting side at halfback following TJ Perenara's withdrawal. Even then he backed Finlay Christie over Chiefs rookie Cortez Ratima who has since definitively stated his case to retain the starting mantle.
In San Diego against Fiji the All Blacks rookies all seized their chances. Handed a start alongside Anton Lienert-Brown, Proctor carried his superb Super Rugby form with the Hurricanes through to the test arena. His distribution in particular, to regularly set his wings away, further elevated escalating pressure on incumbent centre Rieko Ioane.
Sititi and Tosi showcased their dynamic ball carrying impact. Darry, in a short stint off the bench, highlighted the value of genuine size at lock. And 21-year-old Hotham confirmed he will eventually savour a long future competing with Ratima and, when he returns from injury, Cam Roigard.
On paper the All Blacks commanding 47-5 victory against Fiji appears a quantum leap from their unconvincing 2-0 sweep of England. The reality, though, is the opposition and pressure points significantly fell away - and the All Blacks' clinical finishing must improve.
In that context, questions remain about whether areas such as the All Blacks' lineout, breakdown and attack, the latter consistently stifled in the face of England's consuming rush defence, have been reformed or, perhaps, the chance to free the shackles against Fiji was something of a mirage.
This Sunday Robertson names his 36-man Rugby Championship squad which, for the All Blacks, begins with two home Tests against Argentina, the first in Wellington on Aug. 10. The squad largely picks itself but selection headaches arise at halfback, and in the stacked loose forward department.
Perenara's expected return from injury will force the All Blacks to drop either Hotham or Christie. From a development perspective, the decision is straightforward but former All Blacks coach Ian Foster and Robertson, to this point at least, place a high value on Christie's defensive qualities.
Depth at lock is a pressing concern in the post Whitelock-Retallick era. Darry's debut cameo eased those fears, somewhat, but with Chiefs lock Josh Lord continuing his comeback in the NPC preseason with Taranaki, he could well be included for the Rugby Championship.
Will Jordan will be the most notable inclusion after missing the entire Super Rugby Pacific season with shoulder surgery. Robertson will be itching to unleash Jordan's potent attacking threats - and that will almost certainly come from fullback after spending all but one of his 31 Tests on the wing.
Sititi's rise as a damaging ball carrier - an aspect the All Blacks pack lacked against England - adds more pressure to the complexity of striking their best loose forward balance. While Ardie Savea's presence is assured, the other two back-row positions are highly contestable. As a collective, the All Blacks work at the breakdown requires attention when pitted against the game's elite pilferers.
Former All Blacks captain Sam Cane has overcome his long standing back issue to put himself in the frame for a recall, too.
Damian McKenzie seems set to retain the playmaking reins for now but with the All Blacks kicking game under the spotlight, settling on a starting fullback between Barrett, Jordan and Perofeta won't be straightforward either.
Emerging from a tense introduction to the Test scene with a clean sheet and seven rookies ushered into the black jersey paints a successful picture of Robertson's first tentative steps at the helm.
But with vulnerabilities evident, Robertson must be brave as he seeks selection and game plan certainty.
With two Tests in South Africa looming in the coming months, maintaining acceptable grades won't get any easier.