All Blacks: Better depth puts some on the outer

Rene Ranger (pictured), Liam Messam and Zac Guildford had to be omitted this week. Photo / Getty Images

From scrambling to find a midfield and locks in early June, the All Black squad is suddenly looking better resourced than it has for a long time.

Depth is no longer a concern for the coaches but it is for a handful of players desperate to break back in or stay where they are.

Rene Ranger, Liam Messam and Zac Guildford had to be omitted this week to satisfy the Sanzar rules of travelling with only 26 players. Imagine who would have had to be culled had Richard Kahui, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Isaia Toeava been fit.

What about next year, when Sonny Bill Williams presumably earns a place and persuades the selectors his brand of power running and clever offloading has to be accommodated?

A number of good players are going to end up missing World Cup selection - a sign indeed of the strength in depth there now is. Hosea Gear, Ben Smith, Mike Delany, Luke McAlister - all recent All Blacks, all capable, all worthy - are right now a long way from selection.

The current panel have historically splita30-mansquad into 14 backs and 16 forwards. As long as injury doesn't strike, there are plenty of cast-iron certainties.

In the backs, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Cory Jane, Mils Muliaina and Sivivatu (once he recovers) are non-negotiable. Jimmy Cowan and Piri Weepu appear to have the same status and it's probable one other halfback will be selected. Toeava, Kahui, Israel Dagg, Ranger, Williams, Joe Rokocoko, Benson Stanley, Aaron Cruden and Guildford will have to be squeezed into five places.

Remember, in 2007, it was only Rico Gear, Weepu and Troy Flavell who felt any real sense of grievance at missing the cut.

The situation in the forwards is not quite so luxurious but there is some pressure. Ali Williams will be feeling it. Should he find full fitness and recover his best form, he'll still have trouble budging Tom Donnelly as Brad Thorn's partner.

Sam Whitelock should advance in giant steps over the next six months and Williams is really going to have to be close to his best to find his way back in. If he manages that, Anthony Boric will be nervous, while the likes of Jason Eaton, Bryn Evans and Isaac Ross could be not even close to selection.

In the loose forwards, Adam Thomson has not been forgotten. He's been asked to find his running and passing game with Otago and the New Zealand Sevens. Given his raw speed and natural skills, he's ideally suited to the current style - he just needs to adapt, forget all about scavenging and reinvent himself.

Daniel Braid has been brought back for a reason, while Graham Henry has a soft spot for Tanerau Latimer.

Loose forwards Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read and Victor Vito are certainties, leaving Braid, Latimer, Thomson, Messam and Rodney So'oialo unsure whether they will fit in.

Once Andrew Hore recovers, the squeeze will be just as tight in the front row. Hore, Keven Mealamu, Owen and Ben Franks and Tony Woodcock are indispensable. John Afoa is pressing his claim as a prop who can cover hooker, leaving Corey Flynn, Neemia Tialata, Jamie Mackintosh and Wyatt Crockett on the edges.

Injury and form will play a role in the final make-up and there is the possibility of new talent emerging late in the piece.

But there is little doubt the All Blacks are better resourced than theywere at the equivalent point in the last World Cup cycle when they were deliberately trying to build depth.

Back in 2006, it was a specific aim to build two genuine test players in each position. That, and to a lesser extent player fatigue, were the drivers of rotation.

The coaches mixed and matched, brought players in, pushed them out and kept tinkering with their line-up as they chased their goal of building two teams. It was infuriating for some fans and also some players.

Strangely, they have built a deeper talent pool by consistent selection, catering only for injuries and making the odd change with a specific view to giving someone a chance.