KEY POINTS:
The end of year tour, where the All Blacks will play five tests in five weeks as well as a mid-week game against Munster, presents major issues in terms of selection.
It now seems likely that coach Graham Henry will select his "A" team for the Bledisloe Cup
match against Australia on November 1 and then not again until the England match at Twickenham on November 29, at the end of the tour.
Anyone not agreeing with this might be advised to remember Robbie Deans, basking in the glow of a seriously good win against the All Blacks. Deans predicted his side would have no problems getting up for the return game in Auckland.
The Tri Nations draw had been cruel to Australia and South Africa, giving them both a run of three consecutive tests. The Wallabies opened their campaign in Perth on July 19 with a win against the Boks, then beat the All Blacks in Sydney on July 26.
"I don't think there will be any issue with that," said Deans when asked if he felt his players would struggle to peak for that third test at Eden Park on August 2.
Australia were thumped 39-10. They looked to be missing the zip and intensity they had in Sydney as did the Boks, playing their third consecutive test in Perth. Graham Henry has contended since late 2004 that players can't play three tests in consecutive weekends and maintain their form throughout.
Tri Nations results support his view and the consistency of the All Blacks' selection through the latter part of the campaign was driven as much by the scheduling as it was by lack of depth.
It is unlikely anyone in the November tour party will start three tests in a row. Some players might feature in three, but at least one of those appearances will be off the bench.
There is also the tricky business of selecting a match-hardened side that can win in Hong Kong.
Supposedly it's a dead rubber. In reality it is anything but. It has to be a commercial success and Henry and Deans will be aware it is not a game for experimental selections.
Henry would also feel better about 3-1 than he would 2-2 which is why he'll most likely select largely the same team that started the last three tests.
The problem, though, is that a number of senior players are going to come into the game cold.
Ali Williams and Brad Thorn won't play any rugby for seven weeks before the Australia test.
Dan Carter and Rodney So'oialo are only able to play provincial games if there are injury dramas at Canterbury and Wellington. Mils Muliaina is only available for Waikato from the quarter-finals (which they are struggling to make) and Tony Woodcock is being monitored to see how he recovers from a toe complaint, making it unlikely he will play for Harbour.
Presumably Henry doesn't need to be reminded of what can happen when too many players in the team are short of football. It would be a risk to start a test against the Wallabies with six players playing their first game in seven weeks.
It is a risk Henry will probably take as the players in question are too important to omit. Senior figures such as Williams, Thorn, Muliaina, Carter, So'oialo and Woodcock, given the amount of rugby they have played so far this year, should be able to pick up the pace of the game in Hong Kong quickly enough after their long lay-off.
After that, it's likely that only a few who start in Hong Kong will be asked to back-up in Edinburgh.
Scotland will be considered the weakest of the four Home Unions and present an opportunity to start some of the less experienced tourists such as Anthony Boric, Stephen Donald, Rudi Wulf and Adam Thomson.
Mass rotation is likely for the next two tests against Ireland and Wales, with a mix of old and young heads designed to secure victory while building depth.
England at Twickenham are never easy . The selectors will plan to use their strongest XV for that game, or something very near it. Rotation will be back with us, but given the physical demands of the tour, that is no bad thing.
