The patient All Blacks believe a long build-up to the Test against Scotland on Monday morning (NZT) could work in their favour.

Nine days after arriving in Edinburgh, captain Richie McCaw and his team took their first look at Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday (NZT), just a day out from the match that kicks off their four-Test tour.

“All the prep’s done, it’s just a matter of doing the job,” McCaw said.

“You know it’s going to be a long week before you start, so you build as such, and I think we’ve done that pretty well. The guys just can’t wait to get out there.”

McCaw believed the long preparation would also benefit his two debutants, hooker Dane Coles and halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow, who have both been named on the reserve bench.

“It could be quite daunting, I suppose, to make sure you know everything that’s going on, so a little extra time to make sure they get everything sorted (could be a good thing).

“They get to watch a little bit from the sideline for a starter so that might be an easier thing too.”

The 3pm kick-off time in Scotland is also another challenge to get used to for the Kiwi squad, who predominantly play their matches at the more broadcast-suitable time of 7.35pm in New Zealand.

“It will be a bit different. It comes around pretty quick you know. You get so used to a night game, so it comes around almost too quick, but it’ll be nice if this (the drizzle) stays away and the sun is out,” McCaw said as he looked to the sky.

Some of that extra time spent in Edinburgh has been spent studying up on inexperienced French referee Jerome Garces, who has a reputation in European domestic rugby for using yellow cards to punish transgressors.

“The key for us for the team is to take that influence away and you do that by just focusing on your job and if we allow his decisions to influence how we’re going, we’re in trouble,” McCaw said.