KEY POINTS:
I know everyone will be worried about Dan Carter's injury but I'm not. Nick Evans has looked pretty good in the position and, let's face it, this is why Graham Henry has been building depth - or has he?
Carter and McCaw are the only players who haven't
been rotated that much in the long build-up to this World Cup. In fact, Carter has been the starting 10 in 19 of the last 21 All Black tests, making him the least-rotated player in the squad.
Okay, maybe I'm a little bit worried.
But not seriously so. As I say, Evans made a good fist of first-five pretty much every time I watched him this season and he has done well in France - and I note Henry said the only reason Luke McAlister was playing 10 against Romania is that he hasn't played there already and Evans has.
Fair enough - at least that gives the game against Romania some sort of rationale for the All Blacks, as opposed to the largely meaningless encounter it previously appeared.
There's only one thing I'd say if it turns out that Carter has a bad calf injury - get him out of there pronto and get a replacement there.
Some of you may remember that I was attached to the All Black World Cup team in 2003 and I remember when Tana Umaga went down with his injury. He was a key player and would normally have been an important part of the team, even injured, but I'd have to say that the injury got him down.
It's not good when someone that important is that down and I think it affected the team a bit. It might have been better to have sent him home if he couldn't play - but that's just my opinion and I'd say the same thing if Carter is unable to play. It's better for a team to concentrate on the here and now and not focus on what and who they are missing.
But, for all that, I'd say the All Blacks will still have too much for France if they meet in Cardiff. I know that's courting disaster but Henry's team have dealt to the French before and, barring a miracle like that of 1999, I can't see how the French can overturn matters.
I also don't see how the English can beat Australia now they've got past the Tongans. I'd pick a similar scoreline to England-Tonga to the England-Australia quarter-final - but it would be Australia 36, England 20 and they might struggle to get 20.
It was England's best performance of the tournament against Tonga, but the Tongan mindset could have been very different after halftime if they'd not leaked that smart try engineered by Jonny Wilkinson and then suffered that runaway try to Paul Sackey.
The English will attempt to disrupt the Australians at scrum and with their drives and mauls - but that is all they have got and the Australians will have too much in the loose forwards and their backs.
The English defence looked poor against Tonga and the Aussies will hurt them if they defend like that.
