Former All Blacks fly-half Andrew Mehrtens squares up to 'Robo Dan' in Auckland © Getty Images

A possible answer to England's recent woes was on show in Auckland yesterday - he is injury-proof, can kick the leather of a ball and perhaps best of all is teetotal. His name is Robo Dan.

Created by Massey University Albany, the pneumatically powered kicking machine went head-to-head with former New Zealand fly-half Andrew Mehrtens as a prelude to the first Schools Robotics World Cup that will be staged later this week. Robo Dan matched the All Blacks' great kick for kick with both landing 11 of 12 attempts on goal. "We didn't swap our balls like the English did and we were quite happy with the way they kicked," co-creator Johan Potgieter told the New Zealand Herald. "We realised very early that it's not about how much power you put behind a rugby ball, it's about timing so we spent a lot of time with slow camera footage, frame by frame analysis of kicking positions and how you strike a ball."

There's a lesson there for all wannabe Dan Carters but unlike the All Blacks playmaker, Robo Dan cannot be struck down by injury. "That's the good thing about a robot - they don't misbehave," added Potgieter, "and when there is an injury you can normally fix it in a couple of minutes!"

Elsewhere, the build-up to this weekend's Rugby World Cup semi-finals continues to intensify with Kiwis desperate to find some emotional and psychological support ahead of their side's showdown with Australia.

The history books appear to offer reason for hope. No side has ever lost a game and gone on to win the sport's biggest prize so as the only undefeated side in the final four (Australia lost to Ireland in the pool stages, Wales went down to South Africa and France were beaten by New Zealand and Tonga) the All Blacks appear to be sitting pretty. In addition, the All Blacks have not been beaten at Eden Park (that will host both semi-finals and the final) since 1994 when France claimed a famous 23-20 victory thanks largely to the Try from the End of the World'. Australia's Eden Park hoodoo extends even further with their last victory at the ground coming 25 years ago.

Need further evidence that this is New Zealand's year? Well, no side has won the Tri-Nations and the World Cup in the same year so the Wallabies are up against although they may well point to the fact that every World Cup winner since the first tournament in 1987 has beaten the title holders on their way to lifting the Webb Ellis Cup - with Australia sending South Africa packing last weekend. Beaten quarter-finalists have also fared well in their next assault on the World Cup crown with England and South Africa both bouncing back to claim the big one. Both Australia and New Zealand came up short in the quarter-finals back in 2007 but only one can progress to this year's final.