It's a great time to be a young hooker or a front rower because there are places opening up in the All Black environment.

The All Black team to play Ireland highlights two major elements - how settled they are with their squad and how much depth they have developed.

It's been hard on this tour to know where AIG ends and the All Blacks begin.

The beauty of the sport of rugby is that with every new season you can detect subtle changes in the comparative importance of positions.

Tracey Nelson crunches the numbers from the All Blacks' 30-22 win over England at Twickenham where lock Sam Whitelock stood out in his 50th test.

Ditch the talk about justice for the All Blacks, enterprise against intimidation or revenge for last year's stumble at Twickenham, writes Wynne Gray.

Margins between top international sides are not great, especially if there is a shift in mental application.

France were tough, resilient, creative and intensive and yet they might turn out to be a walk in the park compared with playing England.

About coffee and croissant time tomorrow, the All Blacks will meet France for what may be the last time at the Stade de France.

Their scrummaging may have been a little suspect at times, but this All Black pack have improved massively since this time last year.

Peter Fatialofa was a larrikin and a leader, someone who was able to merge those traits in his own delightful way, writes Wynne Gray.

Shameful chapters in New Zealand rugby have reduced but the NZRU's inability to unite with Jonah Lomu remains one of their neglectful episodes.

France, forever touted as an All Black nemesis, are nothing of the sort, writes Gregor Paul. Their record against NZ is fairly dire.

The All Blacks will be heading into an interesting foreign environment when they arrive on their northern tour - the stoush over the future of club rugby in Europe.

John Kirwan comes across with such relentless positivity that it's easy to see the good things about Ma'a Nonu's return to the Blues, but even he must know his about-turn on the wandering midfielder comes with big risks.

The ABs have equalled their record of 30 consecutive home wins, while the Wallabies managed to score their highest number of points in NZ, writes Tracey Nelson.

Thirty tests and counting, the All Blacks' winning streak at home will take some beating. Can England do it next year?

It's probably not too much of a stretch to suggest this is the most important match of Jeremy Thrush's career, writes Patrick McKendry.

The Chiefs won't hold out any hope that the volatile nature of Sonny Bill Williams will see him announce tomorrow that he's had a change of heart and will indeed be shifting to Hamilton next year.