Rugby: All Blacks in selection squeeze ahead of Rugby Championship

There will be a bit of musical chairs for the All Blacks ahead of the Rugby Championship when they welcome back a handful of injured stalwarts who will squeeze out a few current squad members.

The injury news for the All Blacks is about as good as it has been in an age, with Kieran Read to play a pre-season game for Counties this Wednesday and then make a return for the Crusaders if all goes to plan.

He should be game conditioned and firing by the first Bledisloe Cup encounter in mid-August. Brodie Retallick is on track to catch the end of the Chiefs' Super Rugby campaign, Beauden Barrett and Vaea Fifita have recovered from concussion and Liam Squire should be in action relatively soon for the Highlanders.

Ardie Savea, who exited early in Dunedin, has a high-end ankle sprain and may miss four weeks of action and Sonny Bill Williams faces three weeks out with a shoulder injury.

All of them are expected to be named in the 33-man Rugby Championship squad in early August. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen confirmed Chiefs prop Nepo Laulala was progressing well and that Dane Coles had advanced from knee surgery so well he was likely be available for the back half of the tournament.

Laulala will return to the All Blacks fold and probably that will result in Tim Perry and Jeffery Toomaga-Allen dropping out.

Kieran Read and Brodie Retallick are on track to return for the All Blacks before the Rugby Championships in August. Photo / Photosport

The All Blacks had only two hookers in their June squad which allowed them to overload on the loose forwards.

Given the travel, they usually include three hookers in the Rugby Championship, which means the squeeze will be felt in the backrow.

Read's return will most likely see Luke Whitelock drop out, with Sam Cane, Squire, Fifita and Savea probably certainties. That might leave room for one more loose forward to make the cut, probably Shannon Frizell or Jordan Taufua.

That picture could yet be complicated by the accomplished work of Jackson Hemopo, whose ability at lock and blindside makes him a good bench option.

The initial squad mix was 17 forwards and 16 backs, but the balance could shift to 18-15 to accommodate Hemopo at the expense of one of the five midfielders.

If so, Ngani Laumape may be the unlucky victim. He played well in the series but is an out-and-out No12 and if he doesn't start, Ryan Crotty, Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue have greater versatility.

There's still a month of Super Rugby before final decisions are made and for Hansen and his fellow coaches there needs to be a debrief and analysis of the French series.

"We were a bit disappointed by the second test performance but we got a lot of learning out of it and come Saturday night we showed those learnings," said Hansen.

"It is in its early stages so when you try something new you are going to make mistakes. We saw some glimpses of it last night where we really opened them up."