KEY POINTS:
It is a long list. An amazingly long list when you consider the stockpile of locks was so meagre just three years ago that Norm Maxwell had to be prised out of semi-retirement for the All Blacks' end-of-year tour to Europe.
Now the register of World Cup locking contenders includes Chris Jack, Ali Williams, Jason Eaton, James Ryan, Keith Robinson, Greg Rawlinson, Troy Flavell, Reuben Thorne and Jono Gibbes.
Instead of desperately trawling for candidates, the All Blacks selectors are facing the uncomfortable task of separating a swag of second-rowers. Among them Rawlinson, the South African who made history last season when he played against the Springboks in his rise to three tests with the All Blacks.
He did not make the end-of-year tour, nor the reconditioning squad, but in the absence of Williams at that protected training, Rawlinson and skipper Flavell have been a boom locking combination for the Blues.
Rawlinson has brought the relentless physical edge the Blues needed in their set piece and mauls, while he has also tacked on a few reminders of his improved athleticism outside his core duties.
There was no doubt for coach David Nucifora, Rawlinson was the pick of the pack against the Chiefs. He had been a consistently robust contributor all through the Super 14.
Rawlinson's reward was to be benched for tomorrow's match against the Cheetahs at Eden Park. No doubt that decision was tough to take for the 28-year-old, but the Blues' strength this season had been built in part, on rotation, internal competition and saving players.
It was Rawlinson's turn to rest but on the evidence of this season and Nucifora's words, his break will be minimal.
He has set some serious standards for Williams to emulate.
Rawlinson has tried not to think about the All Black selectors' ideas or the ultimate World Cup selection prize.
"All I have concentrated on is the Blues season, I can't look beyond that. I think if I perform well for the Blues that will keep me in good stead," he said.
There is not a lot of flashy football about Rawlinson but plenty of energy, plenty of hard work and selfless determination - all the sorts of qualities Nucifora has come to appreciate if the Blues are going to deliver on their potential.
"For all of us tight forwards, the set piece and the mauls and so on are your bread and butter," said Rawlinson, "so you can't get away from that sort of work. That is what is looked at first."
A potted history of Rawlinson shows he arrived in New Zealand from Durban in 2002, played 13 games for Bay of Plenty, returned to South Africa briefly in 2003 for one game with the Sharks, before linking with North Harbour and then shunning Springbok overtures to play for the All Blacks.
"It was strange all right. You know you spend all your life supporting one team and then after three or four years away you are playing for another team," he said.
And he achieved that while the Blues bottomed out to eighth last year in another patchy season.
"I am a bit more relaxed this season," Rawlinson confessed. "I was pretty intense last year. After having lost quite a few games in the Blues you tend to lose a bit of confidence so getting that back has been a key thing for me."
It was coming, helped by the way the Blues had emphasised the team ethic, changed some of the weekly organisation to give players more time for analysis and the reduced pressure on the side.
"We have always been the team which is tipped to do well but this year the expectation was not so high and we have had to put in a lot more ourselves.
"Another key is the way David [Nucifora] has kept the pressure on rotating players and even with all the All Blacks back it makes everyone realise there is no given position. It has made a huge difference."
So Rawlinson has had to cop it for tomorrow, on the bench for the Cheetahs game, though he is likely to get 30 minutes of the game.
"Any time is good because while the first eight weeks of the Super 14 were big, the back half of the season is where we really have to pour it on. This is my focus."
