All Blacks will regret saying sayonara to Matt Todd - former coach

The All Blacks will regret releasing Matt Todd to play in Japan.

That's the message from former All Black coach John Hart, who predicts North Harbour's Dillon Hunt will go into the test squad as openside back-up to Ardie Savea.

Crusaders stalwart Todd, who has played 14 tests over six years, is having a "sabbatical" at the Panasonic Wild Knights under Robbie Deans, which probably puts him out of the All Blacks' reach.

With Sam Cane sidelined long term because of the neck injury suffered in Sunday's Pretoria test, it means the All Blacks are exposed at openside for the upcoming tests against Australia, Japan, England, Ireland and Italy.

Just how the newcomer is managed into the main squad - which splits up briefly during the Japan sojourn - remains to be seen.

Another contender, Auckland's Blake Gibson, has just been ruled out for the season with a quad injury.

The 30-year-old Todd wants to be in World Cup contention but has said Japan was too good to pass up at this stage of his career.

Hart told Radio Sport: "They clearly would be very disappointed Matt Todd is on sabbatical in Japan - he would have been the first choice.

"Whether they revisit that, see if they can get him released...but I don't think having given the sabbatical they will want to interrupt that.

"Blake Gibson was one of the choices but now that he is out, Dillon Hunt is a certainty. He's been around the squad, and is playing pretty good football. I'm sure he will be the player - they are a bit thin outside of that."

The 23-year-old Hunt, who plays for the Highlanders, made his debut for the All Blacks as a substitute against a French XV in November.

Meanwhile, Hart said the rise of South Africa was a "cause for concern" a year out from the World Cup.

"They have improved immensely through this campaign," he said.

"They normally don't have the combination of skill and other attributes. It makes for a very exciting opening World Cup game.

"The All Blacks are making too many mistakes and not playing quite as well as they have.

"South Africa really put pressure on them defensively and suddenly the attack was blunted.

"We are doing things like kicking the ball away - we should have confronted them through the middle, been a bit more patient. They are making mistakes under pressure and I'm sure that will be concerning Steve Hansen."