Despite utterly dominating the Super 14, the champion Crusaders provide just seven players in New Zealand coach Graham Henry's first mix o f the year hastily preparing from today to face Ireland in Wellington on Saturday.
It adds gravitas to the standards set by Deans, whose team utterly dominated this year's competition yet have been found to supposedly lack international quality players.
The sixth-placed Blues provided more players to the squad with eight, while there was five each from the Hurricanes and Chiefs and just surp rise package flanker Adam Thomson from the Highlanders.
Henry said he and assistant coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith selected all their teams through the close analysis of individuals.
Therefore they could recognise if a candidate was made to look good by the team he played in, indicating that Thomson's performances with the struggling Highlanders were fairly judged against those of Crus aders blindside Kieran Read, who was a surprise omission.
"With the method we use, hopefully if a team's not so dominant we're still going to see a player doing the right things," Henry told NZPA.
"That's what Adam Thomson did, for example, week after week in the second half of the Super 14.
"Playing in a dominant side like the Crusaders have been is an advantage because that gives gu ys good opportunity, good confidence.
"Hopefully by watching individuals we overcome that problem."
Henry still praised Read and strongly suggested he would be picked for the end of year tour if his progress continued.
The Crusaders players were allowed to join the squad a day late today but Henry said he had no plans to necessarily rest them as they had all come through the final well.
Among them was recalled lock Brad Thorn, 33, whose form had been exceptional considering he has not long returned from three years of rugby league with the Brisbane Broncos.
"Quite frankly, I wondered why he was coming back to rugby," Henry said.
"I know why he was coming back now. He's been superb, he had an outstanding Super 14.
"I think he's got all the bits and pieces that are required in the package and he also loves to scrum. That's a rare commodity."
Thorn and Thomson were two who would have barely registered in Henry's pre-Super 14 thoughts.
Others to have staked their claims strongly in the four-month tournament were the five other new caps alongside Thomson -- Blues lock Anthony Boric, Chiefs first five-eighth Stephen Donald, Chiefs centre Richard Kahui an d Blues wingers Anthony Tuitavake and Rudi Wulf.
Henry said this week would provide a major challenge as he sought to balance the training load between those players whose season ended three weeks ago and the likes of the Crusaders, who have played non-stop for nearly four months.
"You just get that mix right so you don't overcook the guys who played the final," Henry said.
The amount o f game time for Daniel Carter's first five-eighth backup Donald will be of interest.
Smith said Donald won out over Crusaders talent Stephen Brett because of his extra physicality.
"He (Donald) showed under pressure that he can come back and win a game. He was pretty resilient throughout the season," Smith said.
"Stephen Brett's a hugely talented young player. A bit of space, a bit of time and he's got a big future.
"I like his running lines and attacking nous at 12. It's fair to say he's still developing that attacking tackling game that you need at 12 so probably at this stage he's more suited to 10."
Smith said the selectors would lean towards established combinations at Westpac Stadium on Saturday, meaning Hurricanes teammates Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith will probably provide a home-town midfield duo.
