All Blacks: World Cup countdown begins tonight

The coaches have wanted Colin Slade as Daniel Carter's backup for some time. Photo / Getty Images

Fifty days to the World Cup kickoff against Tonga - five tests for those wanting to make the magic 30 who will carry the All Black hopes into the tournament.

This is it - the countdown begins tonight at Carisbrook against Fiji as the initial group offer their credentials in a test designed to also raise money for the Canterbury earthquake victims.

Although the All Black coaches have been injecting the squad with their mantra, delivering their needs and wants in the last weeks, tonight is also the start of the public auditions. The staff have their men, the customers will make their evaluations.

This is where the audiences, from those who venture to the frigid climes of Carisbrook to those in warmer surroundings in front of large screens, make their judgments.

Old-school types will pull out the pens and notebooks, those with techno-fascination will be inputting details into their iPads, tweeting or some such chatter.

Fiji should not make a jelly wobble but they will ask questions in areas and of individuals.

Those answers will be of most fascination to the three wise men while the rest of the nation who are absorbed in the national sport will all have opinions.

If, as expected, the All Blacks rack up a serious score, there will be the accompanying corollaries about how much can be read into a win against such an opponent.

Henry and Co will hope so, and that there will not be any sort of a repeat of the Wallabies' sinking last week against Samoa.

From front to back there will be any number of All Black inquiries.

Can Mils Muliaina recover the spark which used to be such a constant in his game and does Andrew Hore still cut it at this level, or are they both beneficiaries of their long-time association with the selectors?

You'd hope and suspect not as the selectors showed their sting when they cut Joe Rokocoko and his "cuzzie" Sitiveni Sivivatu from the original side.

But then they erased some of their snarl when they added four others, including Sivivatu, to the initial squad of 30.

No doubt they would love Sivivatu to recapture some of the glowing form which makes him such a menace but tonight may be close to the gallows for the Mooloo Man. The noose is around his neck, the hinges on the trapdoor are straining, the plunge is imminent.

However, if Sivivatu shows out well against Zac Guildford on the other flank, if he gets into the flow of the game, the selectors may swap blindfolds on their wings.

Slade in his first starting role has to feel the pulse of the match and drop into a rhythm with those around him. But he will get more chances, this is the bloke the selectors have wanted as Daniel Carter's backup for some time. They want to invest as much time as they can into his development in the next 50 days.

Liam Messam and Adam Thomson get their opportunity alongside skipper Richie McCaw. Who does what and how well will be gauged while Jarrad Hoeata gets his chance to join the test ranks on his home track.

Then there is Wyatt Crockett. Next-best loosehead to the recovering Tony Woodcock but in limbo about the World Cup. He or Ben Franks, tonight's two frontrowers, are battling for a final place.

Crockett will measure up against Fijian captain Deacon Manu, a one-time close contender for the All Blacks before his scrummaging took him out of contention. If Crockett stumbles here, his chance will wither. This is a test but also a contest within a game for Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith.

As much as their players they need to be sharp with the Boks and Wallabies on the horizon.