KEY POINTS:
Sifting talent. It is the primary task of any coach in any code and around the All Blacks it is even more crucial as those players at the top level become greater targets and more vulnerable to the soothing offers from voices north of the equator.
Clubs stretching
from Japan back through to Italy, France and into the UK are all after the strong talented rugby beef which has been processed downunder.
There are any number of reasons why players head north - the chance to escape the cloying inspection in New Zealand, less travel, altered experiences, money, new friends, mental fatigue, ambition, different competitions.
Some of the All Blacks in the current touring squad, such as Ma'a Nonu and Piri Weepu, have signed on for longer terms but there will be others sitting in the 35-strong squad pondering their next move, wondering if they and their game will push on consistently enough for Rugby World Cup selection in 2011.
That tournament is less than three years away but that is an enormously long time in any sport and especially in the attritional battleground of international rugby.
Just consider who was in the All Blacks three years ago on their Grand Slam tour to Europe and who does not figure in this year's squad.
Leon MacDonald, Doug Howlett, Nick Evans, Rico Gear, Tana Umaga, Aaron Mauger, Luke McAlister, Byron Kelleher, Mose Tuiali'i, Chris Masoe, Jerry Collins, Sione Lauaki, Angus Macdonald, Chris Jack, James Ryan, Carl Hayman, Anton Oliver and Saimone Taumoepeau have all gone from the original squad selection and Greg Somerville would also be gone, if not for the sudden need to cover injuries this weekend.
It is a swag of talent, a heap of rugby investment and an indication of the turnover in players at the elite level. The reasons are varied: Age, loss of form, injury, opportunities abroad - it does not matter.
They have gone, though some could return. Ever since the dirty "rotation" word oozed out of the never-to-be-used-again All Black lexicon, the selectors have been trying to balance excellence and immediacy with planning and foresight.
That Grand Slam touring success three years ago meant a dozen tests for the All Blacks around their Super rugby and provincial obligations. This year the itinerary has been stretched to 15 tests and a game against Munster to salute that club's famous victory over the All Blacks 30 years ago.
Finding backup players has been the catch-cry of the present All Black coaching regime and one they were able to implement enough against some inferior rivals, to retain some of those players wavering about signing their departure cards.
Some, like Andrew Hore, Keven Mealamu, Ali Williams, Mils Muliaina and Richie McCaw must have been seriously close to an OE before the pull of circumstances, life in New Zealand, money and unfinished World Cup business countered those curiosities.
Others from this group and those on the fringe will farewell their black jersey dreams before that 2011 tournament. Chance, injury, form, age and youth will all come into that mix.
But for now, the All Black selectors have been allowed a massive contingent of 35 players (plus SOS prop Somerville) to handle the rigours of the Wallabies tomorrow in Hong Kong, another potential Grand Slam tour and Munster.
Not bad when you consider the All Blacks had a similar number of players under John Hart when they played four tests against the Springboks and four other games on the 1996 tour of the Republic and again the next year when they travelled to the UK for four tests and five other matches after eight other internationals that season.
But this is all about Graham Henry and his 2008 All Blacks, how they cope with the next month of rugby and what might be their international shelf-life.
Looking at the starting test side tomorrow and clutching the journalists' favourite crystal ball, there will be questions about the international longevity of at least six players and whether they make 2011.
Top of the list, but only on account of his age, is lock Brad Thorn. He is a remarkable athlete and a tremendously selfless team player and has done extraordinarily well to make it back into the All Blacks after another stint at league. Thorn does not cut corners, he works unstintingly but he will be 34 in February.
Neemia Tialata is the sort of versatile prop every coach searches for when he assesses his scrum. But he is a large man, not getting any smaller and finding it more and more difficult to shrug off leg injuries. If he stays fit though, this full tour could be a springboard to his future.
You might put Jerome Kaino into the same category. He has been far more consistent this season after his selection punt in 2004 then several seasons of injury. Instead of hearing though, he will now be seeing the claims of others on the way up like Liam Messam and Kieran Read on this trip.
Choose a trio of outside backs who might be facing the heat in a while and Sitiveni Sivivatu runs into view. It is all very well to argue that he has a deceptive style and instincts others in the game don't, but this season at the highest level his work has been of a far more modest quality.
His fortune was that "cousin" Joe was on the physio table, Anthony Tuitavake was damaged and Rico Gear did not do enough before the original squad was chosen. It is different now.
Two players who fall into the admiration pile are Conrad Smith and Stephen Donald, the former because of his low error rate and smart heads-up play while the latter has also busted barriers to make the jump to test level.
They are probably on the cusp though, in danger from physical or technical elements beyond their help as much as the future contenders for their positions.
Smith will be hounded for his job by Richard Kahui on this tour while Donald at least has some respite and can soak up all the information he can from Daniel Carter before the ace five-eighths scoots off on sabbatical.
