Rugby: Candidates circle to fill hole left by McCaw

Matt Todd's performance in Super Rugby makes him a likely contender for McCaw's No 7 jersey. Photo / Getty Images

Concussion rules the No 7 out this week but the growing talent pool will make selection of a new flanker easy with Cane, Todd and Savea fair prospects

Concussion has removed Richie McCaw from Super rugby action this week but opened up an enthralling comparison between the next line of players chasing his All Black No 7 jersey.

Where the backup for McCaw was uncertain a few years back, there is now a growing talent pool available to the national selectors.

Sam Cane became that All Black designate after the last World Cup when the panel decided it would be prudent to have a specialist understudy to McCaw as his career headed towards its later chapters.

It's obviously still going and just as obviously Cane has cemented his position as the next best All Black open-side with 22 test appearances and a game which is more impressive with each outing.

Others who have hovered around the All Blacks are Matt Todd with two tests and Ardie Savea, who was taken as a special project on the 2013 end- of-year tour to Britain.

With McCaw out of action this week, Todd and Savea will square off in what should be an intriguing part of Saturday's match between the front-running Hurricanes and the chasing Crusaders.

Todd's statistics in Super Rugby this season confirm his prominence in most facets of the game while those markers, intriguingly, point to a fascinating turnaround in some of McCaw's numbers.

McCaw's reputation as a tackling machine has taken a hit with his percentage of kills the lowest at 82 per cent in nine matches while he is also the least effective in beating defenders.

Cane has made the most tackles (98) and has a matching 98 per cent success rate while Todd and Savea are working around 93 per cent tackle successes.

While some of McCaw's numbers may have sagged, he is the most used lineout target among this group of flankers, although that may also reflect the dual flanker role he held at times alongside Todd.

Cane has averaged 75 minutes across his nine games and also has the best figures for carrying possession and heaviest tackle count. Savea is easily the most penetrative attacker yet also passes the least.