KEY POINTS:
The vulnerability of the All Blacks was never better illustrated than in the Dunedin test against the Springboks.
Ali Williams limped off and the full impact of global markets was felt. Kevin O'Neill came on to make his test debut to join Anthony Boric who was making his first start in the second row. They joined John Afoa, Adam Thomson and Jerome Kaino in the pack: among the five of them they had 15 caps.
Compare that with the Springboks - their two locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha had more than 120 caps between them.
Experience, as All Black coach Graham Henry made clear afterwards, is everything in test football. The All Blacks are horribly short of it right now as a result of so many players choosing to leave before their time.
In the stunning defeat of France in Lyon two years ago, the All Blacks had in excess of 350 tests caps in their starting 15.
In the blink of an eye the All Blacks have become a little shaky, hugely dependent on certain individuals staying fit and devoid of any depth in various positions such as lock, halfback and No 8.
Every dollar New Zealand rugby earns is eventually traced back to the All Blacks' winning record.
If that comes under pressure and starts to slip, then the game here is in desperate trouble, which is why the franchise review document released by the New Zealand Rugby Union in the week leading into the Dunedin test is of critical importance.
That document gives an indication of how rugby will be restructured to help New Zealand retain its players and maintain the highest standards.
These are critical battles that have to be won over the next five years as they are certainly not being won right now.
So does the document go far enough? Has it given the franchises what they were after?
By and large the answer is yes, although the franchises remain cautious until they see more detail on how the Super 14 will be structured from 2010.
The key issues all franchises wanted addressed was the contracting model. The old system of players having to sign with a province to become eligible for Super Rugby was flawed.
Instead, the franchises want to be able to contract players directly.
"That is our preferred option," says Chiefs chief executive Gary Dawson. "You have got to have a coach who has a real say in who is contracted."
The document suggests that, in future, franchises will not necessarily be restricted to picking players from their catchment zone but will be able to approach players directly and make them an offer.
For that system to work, franchises will have to be given control of their own budget. One idea mooted by the NZRU is that they will work with what they currently spend in total on Super 14 - under the existing model the NZRU pays the players - and then effectively split that into five and transfer the money to each franchise.
Each franchise would then become responsible for their own budget and free to spend it how they wished. "The document says there is potential for a small number of elite players from around the world to be contracted," says Blues chairman Greg Muir.
"Say you wanted Jonny Wilkinson to come to the Crusaders and you were happy to pay him three-quarters of your budget, then it looks like you are going to be able to do that."
One of the other advantages about allowing direct contracting is that the franchises will be able to dictate the length of the deal.
The NZRU, given the number of players it has to pay for, tends to offer two- or three-year deals. That's to reduce its liability and exposure to having to pay out on longer contracts when players get injured.
It is probable franchises will look to offer some players much longer contracts and allow them options such as rest periods and sabbaticals.
Further down the track there is a desire among the franchises to be allowed to court private investment but, for now, the NZRU says that avenue is blocked.
"Private investment is not something we support right now but it is something we think is worthy of consideration in time," says Dawson.
"Private investment could be a whole range of things - it could be one investor from overseas buying 100 per cent or it could be a corporation buying 20 per cent or 40 per cent.
"So it is something that needs to be carefully planned."
The franchises had their final say on the document last Friday and are now waiting for more detail on the structure of Super Rugby which is likely to come in September.
Cautious optimism is spreading on the back of what the NZRU has detailed so far. If much of what has been proposed is implemented, the franchises are hopeful they will be able to build more compelling environments as part of a more varied and dynamic competition.
"You just can't underestimate the importance of the All Blacks preserving that winning record," says Muir. "If they started winning only 65 per cent of their games, the game here would have real issues."
