LQB is the name of the game for the All Blacks and Aaron Smith wants plenty of it to take his team where it aspires to go on this final lap of the international rugby track for one of the great figures of New Zealand rugby.

LQB. Lightning Quick Ball. Sounds simple, but at a Rugby World Cup where heat and humidity has made ball retention a perilous pursuit, where referees are ruling the breakdown in favour of defences and where there’s more kick than an angry mule, well LQB is easier said than done.

But Smith, the 34-year-old national treasure they call Nuggy because, well, he really is a little nugget, has the highest of standards. At 1.73 metres and 83kg there is not a lot to him, but his achievements stand tall. He was a World Cup winner (in 2015), is the most capped All Black back of all time, with 121 tests, and counting, and not so long ago he was the best halfback on the planet with his snappy clearance, speed around the park and creative vision.

Father Time has dulled his edge slightly, but he’s still enough of a force, and steady hand, to likely remain the starting No 9 as far as this team goes in France.

He’s determined that’s the full distance in his last roll of the dice before heading to Japan. But after dropping the tournament opener (and first ever pool stage match in World Cup history), the road is a precipitous one.

Italy next Saturday morning (NZT) must be negotiated first, and then a quarterfinal against the winner of the Ireland-South Africa blockbuster on Sunday (NZT). Good might topple the Azzurri, but only great will negotiate a path to the semifinals.

So, it was interesting to note his jauntiness following the first of two high-intensity hitouts in Bordeaux, at the Begles club’s quaintly intimate home stade, as he delivered a deep dive into attitude, tactics and challenges.

The early signs were positive the All Blacks, in bye week, were ready to ramp things up after their flat opening in Paris, and largely unopposed romp in Toulouse. There was some “push and shove” at a Wednesday session where the forwards got testy and some words were exchanged. Smith loved it. As indicators go, it’s as good as you get.

“There’s a real purpose to what we want to get out of this week,” he said, noting you could feel the freshness and energy on the back of a couple of light days. “Today was the first step forward to get better as a team and work on some things to get right against Italy.

”When there’s not a game at the end of the week, you can have more intensity in training. It was nice to get out in the sun, tuck some running under the legs, but also good contact and load. Having 30-odd players going hammer and tongs is fun. Tempers and emotions get up. But if you can build that resilience and hardness against your mates, it puts you in good stead later.”

Smith is adamant the Italians have to be respected – a view backed up by the second 40 of their 38-17 bonus-point victory over Uruguay, if not the first. “The way they defend, how abrasive their loose forwards are and the way they pressure high on defence, we’ve got to be really clean around the breakdown.”

He noted some tardiness on support lines and to breakdown against Namibia, and declared: “If you’re late, teams will punish you.

“There’s an interesting stat at the World Cup where defences are getting penalties over attack, which is a big flip. We know that if we can play on top, at speed, and support the ball quickly, we can play our game. We can’t take our foot off the pedal.

“If we look after the ball, move it and trust our drivers to get us around the field, we can be dangerous. Our big focus is forwards providing that platform to create LQB – lighting quick ball.”

For Smith Italy is “do or die”. Nothing else matters. “This week is about learning as much as we can about them, getting our game and the things we can control in a good spot, and also our bodies and minds fresh and ready to go on a long run.

“You can feel it in the energy around what’s coming next. At World Cups it’s all about that – wanting to be in the big games, to do the job for the team, and giving yourself every opportunity because it’s a playoff game next Friday.”

And, like it or not, kicking is going to be a big part of what plays out in coming weeks, warns the veteran halfback.

“Successful teams are kicking the best and a lot. And refs are penalising attacking teams a lot. Teams that are kicking for pressure to set their defence up are the ones doing it well. There’s also variation in phase play, kicking to space and squeezing teams.

“That’s the best kicking, and it’s a big strength of ours. The longer you hold the ball, the more you’re at risk to turn it over or give away a penalty. So if you’re not winning the breakdown, you need to be smart about where can we kick and pressure them now?”.

LQB or bust. That just might be the All Blacks motto when pool play resumes next week.