KEY POINTS:
As far as I am concerned, Joe Rokocoko and Sione Lauaki should not go on the All Black tour to Britain and Ireland - and Stephen Donald should also be in the gun.
Why? Because the first two have been way out of form and Donald is out injured.
The temptation is to take them and get them in form and back to health on tour but, I tell you what, I don't reckon the All Blacks should be taking players who aren't in form or who aren't fit.
No-one could make an argument for Rokocoko or Lauaki being selected on form. So why take them?
Take another player - like Hosea Gear, for example. Maybe he will be the next Joe Rokocoko.
Some say Joe has to go or he'll be off overseas - but that's no reason. You shouldn't make the All Blacks unless you are in form.
Take a nucleus of your top, senior players but select the whole party on form and looking to the future.
We all know Rokocoko is pretty much certain to go - that seems clear - but it's a whole different argument whether he deserves to go.
I would like to see him and Lauaki left behind with a personal trainers; gutbusters every day for a month would sort them out.
As for Donald, well, the All Blacks should not be taking injured players on tour when there are form players on the ground. He shouldn't go if there is any doubt at all about his fitness.
Various touring teams have pulled the wool on several occasions to take players they wanted on tour even though they weren't fit - and it usually ends in tears.
I know everyone will scream that we don't have any first-fives at the moment and that Stephen Brett is still coming off a persistent leg injury.
But it just doesn't work taking injured players away. Generally speaking, they either get more injured or just don't measure up.
An example? Try Keith Robinson at the World Cup last year.
Brett hasn't had any game time lately but we know his quality at Super 14 level - provided he's fit enough, of course.
Also, one of the features for me of the Air NZ Cup has been watching youngsters coming up at No 10. There's Matt Berquist of Hawke's Bay, Colin Slade of Canterbury and even young Daniel Kirkpatrick of Wellington.
I am not saying any of those should get into the All Blacks this year - but it's been good watching them perform well, even though young Kirkpatrick has had to give way to Piri Weepu for the finals.
Speaking of whom, why not take Weepu as a back-up 10? He's been in rare form and I don't have any doubts about his ability to play behind Dan Carter.
As for shock selections, I am not sure there will be too many genuine surprises when the All Black selectors name their side - I'd say Rokocoko will be in it for a start.
But there could be one area where there is a real bolter, with not much game time behind him and about whom many people will say: Who?
That's Richie McCaw's back-up at No 7. I saw Adam Thomson play a good game there for Otago against Wellington recently and he did well on the ground and may well figure in the selectors' plans in that position.
But I feel Thomson is rather more of a spare parts man; a good loose forward but a utility player.
I think they will be looking to develop a real scavenger on the ground; a player who can get close to doing what Richie does.
There are a few candidates but not many who are real scavengers. I have heard a few drums beating for Karl Lowe of Hawke's Bay - even before last night - and there are people around like Auckland's Onosa'i Auva'a, Wellington's Serge Lilo and Victor Vito and Liam Messam of Waikato.
But not many of those are what you might call scavengers and, other than Lowe, maybe a real bolter is Canterbury's George Whitelock - who was held out of starting last night's game by Richie but who really does get down there on the ground and filch ball.
