KEY POINTS:
Injured All Black skipper Richie McCaw will only be replaced once the national selectors and their agents scour a mix of matches this weekend.
The main contenders for promotion are Daniel Braid, Tanerau Latimer, Chris Masoe and Liam Messam, whose fitness and form will be judged in an array of fitness tests, club matches and work for the NZ Maori against Japan in Napier.
"We will be watching some games and judging the availability of players but there will be no updates on where we are going until we have had all those reports in," coach Graham Henry said.
"We have got a real challenge on our hands finding someone and then matching up against the Boks in Wellington but that's the way it is."
McCaw is expected to miss the All Blacks first four Tri-Nations tests against the Springboks and Wallabies after suffering a severe ankle strain in Saturday's 44-12 second test victory against England. His absence means the squad is without a specialist openside flanker while Rodney So'oialo is likely to be chosen as interim captain.
When an interim All Black squad was picked to attend a training camp in Auckland during the week of the Super 14 final, Braid was chosen before he missed the cull when the squad was chopped and the looseforwards cut to McCaw, So'oialo, Jerome Kaino, Adam Thomson and Sione Lauaki.
Braid's presence in that group indicated his high rating and how close he was to an All Black recall after playing the last of his three tests at the 2003 World Cup. Masoe and the others missed the cut for that wider training group which suggests they are slightly behind Braid in the favoured list.
However, Braid is struggling to overcome a hamstring strain which he suffered on tour with the NZ Maori and which has eliminated him from all three of the side's matches in the Pacific Nations Cup. He eased out of the opening game against Tonga after he felt a slight tweak before feeling the problems return when there was a long delay before the start of the wet-weather game against Fiji.
Braid's absence from the NZ Maori matches has given Latimer another chance and his skills and pace have brought him right into the reckoning if his senior teammate is unable to muster a decent gallop by this weekend.
The 22-year-old Latimer started his Super 14 life as a draft understudy to McCaw with the Crusaders in 2006 before the Bay of Plenty opensider returned to the Chiefs for the last two seasons and continued to make steady progress.
Latimer is a former New Zealand sevens player who has become the senior openside flanker for the Chiefs after the overseas exit of Marty Holah.
Meanwhile Henry indicated that injured lock Ali Williams was making progress after spraining his ankle early in the same test against England last weekend.
"He is apparently coming along all right but the big test will be when he tries to get some work into the ankle during the week," Henry said.
Several locks would be monitored in case they needed to be brought into the squad. Those in most recent high calibre action have been former All Blacks Jason Eaton and Ross Filipo who teamed up for the Maori last weekend in the win against Samoa.
