Richard Loe: Drip feed to ITM about right

Benson Stanley. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks have got it about right in the way they are dripping players back into the ITM Cup.

The guys who have not been on the bench and barely used at all during the Tri Nations - Benson Stanley, Anthony Boric and Liam Messam - are heading straight back into action, while the likes of Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and Jerome Kaino are having a longer rest.

It makes sense. Guys like Richie have shown us so many times they can take a few weeks off and then come back to test rugby without ever looking like they had been away.

The less experienced guys, the players who can't be certain they will make the end-of-year tour, need to play and most of them will be desperate to play.

The other thing that has to be remembered is that it is not always easy for provincial coaches and players to welcome back their All Blacks.

On one level, of course, they want the big names back on board. But it's hard on those who play their guts out, give everything and then have to sit out just because a senior All Black decides he wants to have a run about. There is also an integrity to the competition that needs to be observed.

Would it be fair, for example, if Dan Carter, McCaw, Brad Thorn and Owen Franks all became available for a vital round-robin game and then take off again the next week? These guys make a considerable difference.

Maybe bizarrely, I think Canterbury could be stung by the reverse. They might find they have to play the critical stage of the competition without Sonny Bill Williams and possibly Colin Slade and Robbie Fruean.

I would say those three are the only real prospects to not have played (or in the case of Slade, barely played) for the All Blacks this year who could be called up for the tour.

It would be harsh in the extreme for Canterbury to lose them but that is a possibility. Fortunately, they have depth and Stephen Brett can play at No 10 and Ryan Crotty could be back in the midfield by then.

So I think Canterbury probably remain the team to beat and I would back Southland to continue the results they have had and make at least the semifinal. It took guts and confidence to beat Waikato.

Southland are no Johnny-come-latelys. They have been building for four years now and have done it the right way - largely through developing players in their own region, hard work and good coaching.

I'm not sure Wellington have what it takes to hold on to a semifinal place. They have the nucleus of a good, experienced forward pack but their inside backs are young and haven't shown enough so far.

Auckland could be a sleeping giant. They have not played particularly well but they have been winning.

The critical point of the season will be next week when they challenge Southland for the Ranfurly Shield. That's the game that could see them come to life if they win and really push on, or slip away if they lose.

The other team who I would back at this stage to make the semis is Taranaki. They had a poor opening night but I think the acquisitions they made are starting to come good for them.