Wynne Gray: Supreme juggling act for Super 15

Pat Lam's Blues squad has been boosted to 32 players for the next campaign but the shadow of the RWC will make weekly selections a juggling act. Photo / Richard Robinson

Next year's Super Rugby coaches need to be psychiatrists, travel agents, fitness trainers and mediators around their core work.

Throw in a magician's course over summer and several slices of luck and they might have found some solution.

Each squad has been boosted to 32 players for the next campaign but the shadow of the World Cup will make weekly selections a juggling act.

Two months ago, Graham Henry and Co met the franchise coaches to nut out some method of giving All Black contenders leave during the Super series, without damaging their side's prospects.

Once the talk was done Henry spoke about leading players tacking leave on to the two byes each team has in the next extended series. As long as they got away from rugby, he felt that scheme would help. If you add in a late start for some All Blacks, rather than the February 18 beginning, they can tick some more holidays.

The theory sounds all right but in practice may have some pitfalls.

A few facts here. Franchise All Blacks picked for the latest tour were; Blues (9), Chiefs (5), Hurricanes (6), Crusaders (9), Highlanders (2).

The Blues and Crusaders each had six All Black forwards on tour, the Hurricanes and Chiefs two and the Highlanders one.

Four backs came from the Hurricanes, three each from the Blues, Chiefs and Crusaders and one from the Highlanders.

Giving these blokes staggered work may prove tricky from a logistical, tactical, sensible and rhythmical point of view.

Especially with coaches' reputations on the line as well.

Under the new Super rugby system, teams finishing top in each nation's pool automatically qualify for the finals. They will be joined by the three next best in the 15 team competition.

Pool matches are therefore crucial and should also be a great gauge for the All Black selectors to compare and judge World Cup contenders.

Most of the repeat squareoffs between New Zealand franchises happen late in the series and either side of a bye round.

That is surely no time to be resting a lot of prospective All Blacks. Ideas about resting players may need to be more inventive and reactionary.

Ideas will change just as Henry, at the end of the Tri-Nations, thought he would rotate players more on the latest end of year tour.

Some sides with highly effective deputies may have to use them more, like Matt Todd for Richie McCaw at the Crusaders.

Other All Blacks may be excused from trips to South Africa, especially now those have been reduced from three to two games.

A number of All Blacks this year did not deliver enough in the Super 14, they did not underline their test selection. If they want their employers to give them time off next season, then they need to earn that leeway.