Silver Lake has made this investment with decade-long intentions, but with just two of nine seats on the board of NZR’s commercial arm, they will have no input into the rugby administration or fixture scheduling. There will not be more games involving New Zealand – including against England, despite the two countries having only played once outside of World Cups since 2015. 

“In terms of the All Blacks playing more games as a result of this partnership; that has never been part of the model nor aspiration,” Mark Robinson, NZR chief executive, tells Telegraph Sport. “We have talked all along about playing the same – potentially less – rugby, but creating more value around it.”

Inevitably, any talk around brand value and marketing strategies will set off alarm bells among the game’s traditionalists, particularly so in New Zealand, where sensibilities around the sport are felt all the more acutely. 

Silver Lake has moved to quell those concerns, not least through identifying youth participation on Sunday mornings as a key grass-roots area for growth. And, perhaps, to try and soften rugby’s boozy culture into one which is more familial, with the hope of rejuvenating antiquated clubhouses.

“Community and grass-roots rugby face significant challenges around the world,” Robinson says. “In New Zealand, we have recognised that for a few years now but we have not always had the resource [to help].

“Over time, as we aggressively grow our revenues, we will create more resource to be able to invest even more into that area of the game.

“Facilities, administrators, volunteer support, coach development, the school system (especially secondary) – we are confident in Silver Lake’s ability to support that. They have done some fantastic initial thinking around how they might be able to support the community game.”

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, can call on his vast experience of northern-hemisphere rugby to add further perspective.

“I did a bike ride last summer around 53 rugby clubs around the Scarlets region and that really brought home how desperate some of these clubs are in terms of funding,” said Fitzpatrick, a board member at Scarlets. “If we don’t have the grass roots, eventually the players will no longer come through. It is an issue and money can help fix that – alongside expertise. You cannot just go throwing money at it.”

So, with £100million-worth of Silver Lake expertise, can we really expect the greatest rugby nation on earth to get even greater?

“I don’t quite see it like that,” Robinson adds. “We all have a lot of work to do. We know that the rest of the world is working really hard to get better. We know that some of the thinking that has been done in the northern hemisphere, in terms of investment, has had a positive impact.”

Fitzpatrick adds: “NZR is very aware that the game is moving pretty quickly up north. We need to make sure that we don’t take our position in world rugby for granted, that we are at the top table. It is important that we don’t just sit back and let the game develop [elsewhere without us].”

Ever the pioneers on the field, New Zealand are becoming just that off it, too.