Eight weeks out from the first Rugby Championship test, and with a final match against France still to come, the Wallabies will already be looming large for the All Blacks.
Sam Cane is ahead of him and he will drop to third on the pecking order once Richie McCaw returns, but for Matt Todd tomorrow night presents a fantastic opportunity to cement himself as the next best No7 in the country.
On the day it was announced that Rene Ranger would start his first test for the All Blacks in three years, the Blues player finally confirmed his move to French club Montpellier.
Dan Carter's return to rugby on Saturday will coincide with an expectation that his backline reaches even greater heights in the third test against France in New Plymouth.
Kieran Read probably shouldn't have played the last half an hour against France.
Few things satisfy coaches as much as their players carrying out their plans to the letter - and winning.
Last week France coach Philippe Saint-Andre had regrets. This time he has big problems.
Richie McCaw said an interesting thing about Kieran Read this week.
The low point of Tony Woodcock's year could well have been last week, when he was lying in an Auckland hospital bed for two days hooked up to an antibiotic drip fighting an infection in his nose.
Sam Whitelock will make a surprise start for the All Blacks against France in Christchurch tomorrow after the withdrawal of Brodie Retallick who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and is expected to be out of action for up to four weeks.
As his greatest hits go, being knocked out for the Blues against the Highlanders a fortnight ago was right up there for Piri Weepu, but the halfback insists he could have played in the first test against France.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has put the heat on his starting XV to make significant improvements in the second test against France in Christchurch on Saturday.
The strangest thing Richie McCaw discovered during his break from the treadmill of almost never-ending rugby over more than a decade are the aches and pains he suffered from not training.
A little corner of suburban Christchurch could experience a busier than usual Saturday in three weeks following Richie McCaw's announcement today that he will return to rugby via his club before playing for the Crusaders.
Conrad Smith's vast experience could be about to get a whole lot more important for the All Blacks against a team for whom he has always had a soft spot.
Joseph Parker claims to have no nerves ahead of the biggest fight of his career.
The word in the All Blacks camp is that Ben Smith doesn't know quite how good he is.
For coach Steve Hansen, Dane Coles is "the future" as All Blacks hooker, but the 26-year-old might find the landscape shifts a little over the next 24 months or so.
Twelve months ago almost to the day, Julian Savea was named for his first All Blacks test, a match against Ireland at Eden Park in which he announced himself on the world stage with a stunning hat-trick of tries.
All Blacks hooker Dane Coles will start a test for the first time at Eden Park on Saturday, the All Blacks selectors springing a minor surprise by choosing the 26-year-old over Andrew Hore and Keven Mealamu for the World Cup final replay against France.
