KEY POINTS:
LYON - Crocked lock Keith Robinson will miss another week at the rugby World Cup but the All Blacks coaches insist there is no need to panic.
Assistant coach Steve Hansen said Robinson wasn't expected to play in Monday's third pool match against Scotland at Edinburgh, while Waikato teammate Mils Muliaina is also likely to be sidelined through injury.
Fullback Muliaina's hamstring strain, suffered early in the 108-13 dismantling of Portugal here on Sunday, is only expected to keep him out for one week, with Leon MacDonald sure to wear the No 15 jersey at Murrayfield.
However, Robinson's recovery continues to frustrate the All Blacks, with the grafting second-rower not having played or trained properly since the team arrived in France more than two weeks ago.
"His calf is still causing us some concern, we don't expect him to be available this week," Hansen said today.
"Our main aim with him is to give him the time to get it right.
"We're still confident we've got enough time to do that, we're still confident it will come right."
The urge to fly over a replacement player continues to be resisted.
Aucklander Troy Flavell shapes as the logical candidate but Hansen said the selectors were happy to continue biding their time.
"At some stage we'll have to but we're not panicking just yet. When that time comes, we'll let you know."
The selectors may be forced to persist with the locking combination of Chris Jack and Ali Williams for a third consecutive test, depending on where they slot in utility forward Reuben Thorne, who is fit to make his first appearance at the tournament.
Thorne has shaken off a hamstring strain and if there is no recurrence this week, is likely to start at either lock or blindside flanker. He may play at No 6 to rest Jerry Collins, who has started each of the first two games.
The backup locking option could again be Carl Hayman, the world class prop standing out for his mobility and passing skills playing out of position off the bench against Portugal.
"It just shows what an athlete he is, doing those things while playing in a position he's not played before, at this level anyway," Hansen said.
Complicating that is a heavy bruise to his calf although that shouldn't impact on his availability.
The All Blacks caught the train south today from Lyon to Aix En Provence, their picturesque training base for the last two weeks of pool play.
Hansen, who rejoined the team after a week at home to be with his unwell mother, was pleased with the progress of their campaign.
Although they made mistakes on Sunday, the 16-try mauling had ample positives in his eyes.
"Portugal started the game well and if they could have kept that intensity and ferocity going it would have been a hell of a game," he said.
"Obviously their background doesn't allow them to play with that intensity for so long. Eventually we got on top and played some good rugby.
"We made some mistakes but you do that when you throw a lot of ball around. We got out of it without any major injuries."
First five-eighth Nick Evans, who scored a "lifetime high" 33 points, said there was satisfaction at how the players had recovered from a muddled start and matched the standards of the 76-14 opening defeat of Italy.
"Early on we were trying a bit too hard individually. We put the call out to be a bit more direct in our game and go through the structures we wanted to," he said.
"That involved giving the ball to our strong runners to break the tackles and then the other guys kind of feeding off.
"Everyone can get white line fever and wants to score tries and run at holes.
"It was good in that second half that we kept our composure and played the corners. Coming into the later games, those are the things we're going to have to do."
- NZPA
