As the All Blacks' 1905 tour of Great Britain has been described as one of New Zealand's great creation myths, it is probably wise to treat some of the stories it produced with a degree of caution.

However, there are good grounds for believing that the most important figure behind their staggering feat of winning 31 of 32 games was a German/Russian circus athlete by the name of Eugen Sandow.

Sandow is sometimes billed as 'the father of modern body building', and by the end of the 19th century he had built up a lucrative business from his London Institute of Physical Culture. He wrote books, published magazines, sold exercise equipment and advocated a vigorous fitness regime. In 1902 he took his ideas on the road, including a promotional tour to New Zealand.

So it was that the All Blacks who sailed to Britain on the SS Rimutaka three years later devised a training regime for the journey that lent heavily on Sandow's ideas. Taranaki's Bill Glenn packed Sandow's patent chest expander in his trunk, and a number of his team-mates used it. Contrary to accounts of the era, the success had nothing to do with the fact they were all strapping South Island farmers - more than two-thirds of their squad came from urban areas - but their players were unquestionably fitter than all the British teams they met.

Has that much changed? Even in their quieter years, the All Blacks have been distinguished by their ability to put in 80-minute performances. Mentally, and particularly in a World Cup context, they have come up short at times, but physically they always go the distance. They never even look close to running out of gas.

In many ways, the All Blacks have had their equals in world rugby. South Africa can match them, and often better them, in any arm wrestle. The French can play with more pace and invention. The English are more obdurate. But when the legs of other teams start to buckle, those Kiwi pins are still pumping.

So they train harder? There's no evidence. But where they do set the bar higher is in the precision of everything they do. It can tire you out making mistakes, so the All Blacks keep them to a bare minimum. They have an expectation that things will be done properly. The clumsy need not apply.

Richie Gray takes up the story. "I think the key with New Zealand is that they are very efficient in what they do," said the Scotland lock after the captain's run at Murrayfield yesterday. "They play with great accuracy and they seem to do the simple things very well.

"Because they are doing that, they constantly keep pressure on other teams. If you can keep sustaining pressure then any team in the world will become tired against you. The key is their efficiency around the park."

Gray made his first start for Scotland - after winning three caps as a replacement - in the November 2010 match with the All Blacks at Murrayfield. That game was lost, 49-3, and he made his second appearance against the New Zealanders at the same venue two years later, when the tourists won 51-22. "They have been pretty tough outings," he said with feeling.

It is worth remembering that Scotland went into those two games with confidence buoyed by recent results. In 2010, they were on a run of three consecutive wins, including a historic Test series victory in Argentina, while they had also completed a hat trick in 2012, when they had won all three of their matches on that year's summer tour to Australia and the Pacific islands. Yet on both occasions they were in damage-limitation mode by half-time, having conceded 28 and 34 first-half points respectively.

"Maybe in the past we have given the New Zealand side too much respect," said Gray. "We have talked about that this week, about how we want to get in their faces and disrupt things as best we can."

There is no question that Scotland found a rhythm against Argentina that suited the players coach Vern Cotter had selected. He clearly wants a game based on pace, precision and a decent dollop of devilment. The All Blacks have had an armchair ride at Murrayfield in recent years, and Cotter is determined that they should be made to feel uncomfortable. However, he will also be well aware that Argentina had deficiencies in defence that eveb a schoolboy team in New Zealand would not display.

"He has been very clear about what we have to do in terms of raising standards in training through the week," said Scotland flanker Rob Harley of the coach's approach "He is emphasising every skill we have - contact area, set piece and attack - and we are always pushing to set the standard higher. That's what the All Blacks do. They play very efficiently and accurately and we have to go in with our skills as polished and as good as possible.

"He has been very matter-of-fact about things. They are very skilled players, especially when you sit off them and give them time. It has been very focused for us - this is what they want to do and this is how we should try and play. It is exciting to have that focus of wanting to go out and play our patterns and impose what we want to do on the game."

Against Argentina, Scotland showed creativity that had not been seen for years. It is inconceivable that the razzle-dazzle of a week ago will blind the All Blacks today, so the stroppiness Harley brings to the party could be vital. Cotter, himself a fairly stroppy flanker in his playing days, has taken a shine to the Glasgow forward.

Harley, in turn, is relishing the fact he has been given licence to cause trouble. "I feel that plays to my strengths as a player," he smiled. "That is what I will be trying to do - bring a bit of disruption and chaos. As a squad that is the kind of mentality we have."