Joe Moody, the late arrival for the injured Tony Woodcock who excelled as Crockett's replacement, has eased any queries about whether he can cope at this level, while Waisake Naholo is Milner-Skudder's likely replacement should he be needed.
On the day Argentina beat Ireland 43-20 in Cardiff and Australia sneaked past Scotland 35-34 at Twickenham to confirm the final semifinal opposition, Hansen was asked about the Springboks' form at this tournament.
Deservedly beaten by Japan in their opener, they fought back to top their pool and got past Wales 23-19 thanks to a late Fourie du Preez try laid on by No8 Duane Vermuelen.
"I thought they came under enormous pressure early on in the tournament," Hansen said.
"Funnily enough, I think, after an initial shock back home, the country has got right behind them. They've got great support and they seem to be growing an arm and a leg each week. Wales chucked everything at them and they showed a lot of mental aptitude. That was a sensational try, a great pass from Duane in the last 10 minutes."
There was a big difference in the manner of South Africa's victory over Wales, a match in which they scored only one try, and the All Blacks' nine-try humiliation over France, just as there is a big difference between Boks' coach Heyneke Meyer and Hansen.
The former, an emotional man who finds it hard to sit still in his coaching box, is good friends with Hansen, a more stoic individual, who admitted to getting out of his seat after Julian Savea's second try at the Millennium Stadium which pushed the score out to 29-13.
"I think if I did that [acted like Meyer] I'd probably have a heart attack," Hansen said of his mate. "I don't know how he hasn't had one. That's just the way he is. He wears his emotion on his sleeve. I reckon that's great. I might have got a little bit excited yesterday when they scored a try just before halftime. I left my seat and I don't normally do that but it was an important try.
"There is a lot of emotion that goes on in the coaching box and unless you've been there you never really understand it. And whilst we laugh at Heyneke, he's under immense pressure. The rules for his selections are totally different to any other country on the planet. There's a [colour] quota they have and that makes it different.
"Good luck to him, he should celebrate everything. He's a good man and I'm looking forward to seeing him."
On reflecting on the incredible victory of the night before, Hansen, for all his insistence on only looking forward, conceded it was "special".
All Blacks have 'fixed 1999 and 2007'
"It was a special game for a number of reasons - one of them being there were a lot of people who suffered in 99 and suffered in 2007 and they couldn't be here, so it allowed this group to say, 'well, there you guys, we fixed that one up'. You never get it back, but it was special to be able to do that.
"The quality of performance was also special, so those three things will make it a game to remember. But I just love every test win, I don't like losing."
All Blacks v France - Photo highlights
- Patrick McKendry in Cardiff
