Wynne Gray: ABs should be ready for redemption

Sam Whitelock leads the All Blacks against France again tonight. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Gotta long name. Take a pew and give Shag a bit more time to get his tonsils around the pronunciation.

He's still refining his delivery on Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen and Nehe Milner-Skudder - the only fit players from the original squad who haven't been picked for one of the tests against France.

That might be the inference from the expanding hordes who delight in any conspiracy theory about the All Blacks. Any strand of thought or imaginative mention and they are dashing off to distribute the notion on their keyboards.

It's also the sort of nonsense which gathers crumbs because this series has never risen to the heights Beauden Barrett did at the Cake Tin before he and the test tumbled into more distress.

Sport often does not reach up to match forecasts because codes are in danger of becoming too over-hyped.

You can have massive interest about every aspect of the contest and when the action is done, that expectation has far outstripped the action. Think back a year. There was an unprecedented concentration about New Zealand hosting the Lions but when time moved on from the shared series there was no great continuing rapture about the quality of the rugby.

It was more about Sonny Bill Williams' red card in the second test and Romaine Poite's late change of mind about the rules at Eden Park.

Move on to this season and while we were uncertain about France they showed resilience to new coach Jacques Brunel in the Six Nations campaign and vowed to be up for the challenge. They held up until, unfairly, they lost lock Paul Gabrillagues to the sinbin in the opening test then legitimately under the laws, lost fullback Benjamin Fall to a red card in the next test.

The All Blacks cut loose for the final 30 minutes at Eden Park and puddled about for the whole test at the Cake Tin. Half an hour of value in 160 minutes is an average investment for those who fork out considerable dosh to these games but tonight is the stage for redemption under the roof in Dunedin.

Hansen has made few mistakes as he's worked his way through 84 tests at the helm of the All Blacks, taking out the last World Cup and pushing the team to remarkable standards of consistency and success.

With all that experience he knows when he's made a gaffe and he put his hand up with his choices for the test at the Cake Tin.

Let's not forget around the controversy and dreary performance, the All Blacks won the series.

As Hansen and his sidekicks critiqued themselves, their squad and assessed their injury count they had to recalibrate for this final test.

They've gone for a cache of new names and a heavy lining of Highlanders who are familiar with any nuances of conditions on what should be a pacy track. Ben Smith at fullback - hallelujah - Waisake Naholo on the right tramline and all over the park, the wizard Aaron Smith, a steady Luke Whitelock, rookie Shannon Frizell hauling on the No6 jersey and a couple on the reserves bench..

They've also retained Damian McKenzie as their five-eighths in what will be a significant look at his credentials to hold down that role. His talent is undeniable when he's let off the chain and allowed to roam across the turf but organising the All Black backline is a whole new level. He has brought glimpses with the Chiefs through Super Rugby where the pressure is not so compressed.

If everyone stays on the park, McKenzie is sandwiched between the experience of Aaron Smith and SBW with the wise voice of Ben Smith behind him and will trust himself to carry out his coaches' advice. He knows it will be a firm track so the tactical framework will be in his head as long as his pack does their bit.