Rugby: Last decision bound to be the toughest yet for the coaches

Which two of Charles Piutau, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Cory Jane will be in the World Cup squad? Photo / Getty

It'll be a difficult call and one player will miss the cut as selectors whittle down the All Black contenders.

Jiggle it about, shake it up, spin it upside down and it won't matter, all roads lead to the conclusion that the only live debate for the All Black selectors is which two of Charles Piutau, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Cory Jane will be in the World Cup squad.

All the other names are locked in. They have to be. The coaching panel have had the better part of four years to learn all they need to know about their players. They have had the better part of four years to think about the World Cup and what they will need, who they will need and what it will be all about. Head coach Steve Hansen, even before he got the job, had a clear vision about how the All Blacks should tackle the 2015 tournament and while he will have adjusted his thinking along the way, he says the bigger picture hasn't fluctuated.

The past five tests have done more to validate than change the coaches' prevailing views. There's no point trying to read meaning into why some players have been released to play in the ITM Cup and others haven't.

It's a red herring in terms of whether it is related to who might be in or out of the World Cup squad. The selectors haven't spent four years getting to this point to then be swayed by what players do in a one-off ITM Cup game. The release strategy is about giving those players who would benefit from a game a chance to play.

And it's not a straightforward business of saying the bulk of the All Black squad would surely benefit from more game time.

The last thing some older players need ahead of the World Cup is more contact and physical battering. The training load alone for the All Blacks in the past eight weeks has been significant and while a few players have barely been sighted on the field, they have been smashed about and run off their feet behind the scenes.

Others, though, as the selectors have decided, will be better off having a game. There's no hidden meaning in any of this - it is athlete management, with the exception of Jane.

The veteran wing was denied his All Black chance by injury. A hero of the last World Cup and a world-class player in his prime, the selectors face a tough call on deciding what to do.

Piutau and Milner-Skudder are less experienced, haven't got the same longevity of success. But they delivered when asked in their respective test appearances this year. They both offered pace, agility and energy.

Will it be fair for one of them to miss out on the basis that Jane delivered 50 minutes of nice work for Wellington on Thursday and may do so again before the All Black squad is announced on August 30?

It's a tough call, but it will at least be the last one the selectors have to make. Various permutations have been floated by Hansen about whether they will take four or five props; three or four locks; two or three halfbacks. Some of that was said with the intention of trying to stop players feeling comfortable because in all probability, the risks of taking four props and only two halfbacks outweigh the rewards. Taking three locks, however, makes sense because it will allow them to carry six loosies while keeping the total split at their preferred 17 forwards and 14 backs.

If Charlie Faumuina can manage to get on the field for Auckland this week - and he is expected to - he'll be one of the five props taken to England.

The All Blacks have missed his power and despite not having played for three months, Faumuina has stayed on top of his conditioning and is in good nick.

The final make-up of the backs is much harder to predict. Best guess is that Lima Sopoaga is considered the specialist back-up at No 10 to Daniel Carter with Beauden Barrett certain to travel as he brings so many options off the bench. If that's right, there's no room for Colin Slade - it would be either him or Barrett, not both. Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams and Malakai Fekitoa provide ample midfield options and Ben Smith and Julian Savea are locked in as outside backs. Throw in three halfbacks and that leaves room for just two more players and the choices are Piutau, Jane, Milner-Skudder and Israel Dagg. Waisake Naholo is not on track to be fit until the third game of the tournament - which presumably rules him out of contention. Hansen has said that good players will miss out and Slade and Dagg look like being the two, with one of Jane, Piutau and Milner-Skudder joining them.