View photosKEY POINTS:
The battle for Graham Henry and his selectors this week will be, firstly, to find two fit locks and then decide whether Luke McAlister or Aaron Mauger should start at second five.
The No 12 shirt has two in-form, world-class players vying for it.
Last week Mauger scored a brace and played what backs coach Wayne Smith reckoned was the Cantabrian's best test in two years.
Then last night McAlister matched his rival with four line breaks, and nine tackles in a classy all-round performance.
"I think when you see Aaron's performance last week we are pretty strong there," said Smith of his second five options. "Luke, by my count, made four line breaks and 10 tackles so it was a pretty good day at the office.
"He's maturing all the time as a player and he's got some really, really good qualities."
Goal-kicking is normally one of those but the North Harbour man struggled to find his range last night and returned a disappointing six from 11.
But when Dan Carter comes back those stats will lose relevance and McAlister may have the advantage over Mauger because of his slick combination with Blues' team-mate Isaia Toeava.
"That's very promising," said Smith of the 12-13 axis. "Isaia is stepping up at this level he's showing everyone this year what his qualities are. He was disappointed with a couple of handling errors but his physical game was very good.
"He scored a good try, he made a really line break and offload.
"We have been working on him and what we want him to be doing, he's doing very well."
As Conrad Smith is injured and Mils Muliaina likely to start at fullback rather than centre, Toeava is a fair chance to get his third consecutive start, against Canada.
The selectors may well, then, take the view that whoever they start at second five against South Africa on June 23 should also start against Canada.
That would allow either Mauger or McAlister opportunity to build an understanding with Toeava.
It will be a tough choice and possibly a hugely significant one, too. McAlister is pondering an overseas shift at the end of this year.
A strong hint now that he is ahead of Mauger might provide the encouragement he needs to sign with the New Zealand Rugby Union.
