In the end the selection of Ryan Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown in the midfield for the All Blacks against Tonga was easy for coach Steve Hansen and his fellow selectors because they were the only pair fit and available.
Sonny Bill Williams' tight calf ruled him out and Jack Goodhue's hamstring strain suffered against Australia in Perth accounted for him. For them and the All Blacks it's an unfortunate state of affairs because they both need game time and the big question for Hansen now will be whether he can gamble on selecting them – and in particular Goodhue - against the Boks in Yokohama in a fortnight.
Goodhue must now be doubtful, but Williams, given his big-game temperament, must be firmly in the frame for second-five for that World Cup opener.
That would suggest Lienert-Brown, who has shouldered a fair bit of work lately in playing 80 minutes in the last two tests against Australia, must be the favourite to wear the No 13 jersey against the Boks should he remain fit, an honour that will be fully deserved given his recent form.
Crotty's return from a broken thumb also comes at just the right time and the Crusaders and Canterbury midfielder, leaving to go overseas at the end of the year, is not surprisingly a fan of Lienert-Brown's work.
