“When you’re thought-free, you’re just out there in the moment just doing it. That’s when me as an athlete, that’s when I’m at my best and it’s probably the same for everyone else,” he said.

“You’re just in the zone, you’re in the moment. You’re just executing, you’re all connected, you’re all on the same level so the challenge as an athlete is how do you get there at the start of the game or as often as you can,” he said.

That instinctive quality was obvious in his third, and most spectacular, try when he took a gap and then turned on the speed to outrun the Wallabies’ defence.

“It’s just looking up, seeing space, calling it, doing the obvious, that’s all it is.

“There’s no magic or secret to it, it’s just you get some games [where] more luck, more opportunities come your way and you have to be ready to take them,” he said.

But even in achieving that level of perfection, the body still could offer a sharp reminder that it was being taxed.

Awesome to lock up the #BledisloeCup at a packed Eden Park! Congrats @franks_owen for #100 tests. pic.twitter.com/aND18IjDX5— Beauden Barrett (@beaudenbarrett) August 26, 2018

While Barrett exudes calmness at all times in his game, he said there were times of frustration or when he lost his cool and he said the mental side of his game could be grown in the same way as the physical side. Team leadership manager, and previously mental skills coach, Gilbert Enoka had taught him, and the team, a lot and he couldn’t speak highly enough of his work with the side.

Playing the style the All Blacks were at the moment made it satisfying when a good performance was achieved because they knew how hard they were working and the effort that was going into each Test.

“To do it in the black jersey, in front of our home fans, on this occasion it’s Owie’s [Franks] 100th. It’s very satisfying and we’ll enjoy it.

“It’s just the way the team is, the culture, it’s a great one to be part of and as a player it’s a great feeling,” he said.

Explaining his four-try, 30-point haul, the most by an All Black against Australia and which carried him beyond 500 points in Test rugby, Barrett said it hadn’t been a game that flowed, especially in the first half when there were some loose moments.

?? Here it is! @beaudenbarrett‘s record four tries against Australia. RT if you ?? seeing Beaudie score tries.#NZLvAUS #BledisloeCup pic.twitter.com/yBTiOzW04R— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) August 25, 2018

“It was a game where we had to work hard. I think scoring either side of the half was crucial. It’s when you have to work the hardest, particularly at the end of the first half to win those small moments and battles and fatigue settling in. It was a satisfying performance,” he said.

“We’re aware that any team typically drops off, especially at the end of the first half. It’s hard to keep that intensity right up and naturally you fatigue and all those things so we challenge ourselves to just work that little bit harder, to keep the ball alive.

“It worked tonight and it worked last week so it just comes down to work rate and believing.

He said halfback Aaron Smith was very unselfish as was seen with Barrett’s second try when Smith could have scored the simplest of tries himself.

“A lot of halfbacks would probably dot that down themselves but if you give him good voice he will just find you. He loves passing the ball, that’s always the best.”

With comparisons between himself and Dan Carter’s performance against the 2005 British & Irish Lions in Wellington, Barrett said he could remember that game and the way Carter played.

“I’ve always looked up to Desy [Carter] and I really enjoyed playing alongside him and being in the same squad as him. I learnt a lot from him. I grew up looking up to him, and I still do. He’s over in Japan working his trade and he’s a good team man too, we keep in touch,” he said.