No doubt Stuart Lancaster has endured a string of sleepless nights as he attempts to piece together the increasingly troublesome jigsaw that is England's squad for the tour to New Zealand. Less than four weeks from the first Test in Auckland, with players dropping like flies and domestic and European finals to negotiate, the shape, let alone the picture of the puzzle, remains fragmented to the point of being unrecognisable.
The story for his All Blacks counterpart, Steve Hansen, who has named a wider squad of 35 (to be whittled down to 31 on 1 June) for a pair of training camps over the coming weeks, is almost diametrically opposite. His squad came close to picking themselves: they are one of rare depth and experience, with few injuries and fewer than 500 days from the World Cup, and they have a first-choice pick in almost every position.
Coming off a flawless, peerless 2013 (results-wise, at least), the series against England is about continuity not change. While the squad contain five uncapped players, none came from left-field and their introductions will come by osmosis, not as part of a revamp of the squad's more experienced faces.
And, boy, are there some experienced faces. Four made debuts before England won the World Cup in 2003 (and you can add Dan Carter to that list when he returns from a sabbatical). Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Richie McCaw and Ma'a Nonu may be slowing but they are far from stopping yet, and all four look set to make the trip to England in 2015. A glance at the squad tells of combinations who know each other intimately – from Nonu and Conrad Smith's 50 caps together at centre to McCaw and Kieran Read's long-standing club-and-country combo in the back row.
Much is made of the need for 600 caps to win a World Cup – the last four winners have (in reverse order) boasted 709, 688, 638 and 622 respectively. Well, the All Blacks are ready to shift the goalposts. The side they fielded against France in November contained 853, a number that should swell to close to (or beyond) 1,000 by the World Cup. By contrast, the England side who beat Italy in March contained only 356.
Inevitably, there are absentees through injury. Charles Piutau, arguably Super Rugby's form 15 and a near-certainty for the matchday 23, suffered a knee injury this weekend while the lock Luke Romano has a broken ankle. Fortunately, both are positions of immense depth. The squad tell of concern about the health of Read, who has missed recent matches through concussion scares, with eight loose-forwards selected. Jerome Kaino is a quality operator and Victor Vito experienced, but Read's health is paramount: he's the world's best player and integral to hopes of defending the World Cup.
Many Kiwis also worry about who will line up at hooker. Corey Flynn is off to Toulouse, Mealamu's body is creaking and while Dane Coles is the impressive incumbent, depth is scant. Two of the newcomers, Nathan Harris and Liam Coltman, are hookers and Hansen will be keen to learn whether they have the steel for Test rugby. Dishing out debuts is certainly something he does not fear – since taking over from Graham Henry after the World Cup triumph, he has handed out 21 new caps. Patrick Tuipulotu, TJ Perenara and Malakai Fekitoa are vying to become the 22nd.
Perhaps this season's most encouraging development has been the development of Beauden Barrett into a Test-quality 10. With Carter taking time out and Aaron Cruden's return from injury imminent, Barrett should start at fly-half in Auckland. He is Super Rugby's top points scorer, has five tries and has inspired his Hurricanes side into playing the tournament's most attractive rugby.
Furthermore, who can forget the debacle of 2011 when Stephen Donald, in one of rugby's most well-worn stories, dropped the fishing rod one day and kicked a World Cup-winning goal a couple of days later after a fly-half injury crisis. In this respect the re-emergence of Colin Slade, whose functional style makes him just as unfashionable as Donald, is also encouraging. Since 2011, it has seemed inconceivable that Cruden would not inherit Carter's throne but Barrett deserves the chance to stake his claim as the heir apparent.
Statistically, the All Blacks cannot better 2013, but such is the embarrassment of riches at Hansen's disposal, and so balanced is the squad's blend of youth and experience, it is not hard to see them producing a second perfect year. And the scariest thing of all is that there are still a couple of pieces to go into the jigsaw.
Meet the new boys
Hookers Nathan Harris, 22, and Liam Coltman, 24, are picks with an eye on the World Cup, not the here and now, but could yet have an impact from the bench if Mealamu's troublesome calf rules him out. Coltman, a bullocking presence round the park if a little wayward with his throwing, looks the better prepared and if he does get a game, you can't miss him: the man from New Plymouth sports a beard that would be the envy of Russian philosophers of times gone by.
Lock Patrick Tuipulotu appears to have leap-frogged the five-cap Jeremy Thrush, who will train at the camp in Wellington but not the second one in Christchurch, in a congested second row. Tuipulotu is a Super Rugby rookie who stands 1.98m, weighs 120kg and pulls his weight – he is not afraid to pack a punch but is capable of subtle touches, too. In the absence of Luke Romano, Tuipulotu could be just the enforcer Hansen is after.
Scrum-half His is not a completely new face but the Hurricanes' TJ Perenara is yet to don rugby's most famous jersey. He toured Europe in November to gain experience and in Dublin was an unused replacement in New Zealand's final and most dramatic win of the year. He has a zippy pass, pace to burn, and a partnership of delicious promise with Barrett, but his game management and box-kicking can be found wanting. That will come, though: Perenara only turned 22 in January.
Centre Malakai Fekitoa is arguably the most exciting of the lot. He has been in irresistible form for the Highlanders, evading defenders any which way: through, round, sometimes over, always off-loading immaculately and often combining neatly with Ben Smith. In his first season for the Dunedin club after moving south from the Blues, the 21-year-old has scored five times, created plenty more and has provided a stark reminder that Sonny Bill Williams will not stroll back into the All Blacks mix when he completes his latest code-hop next year.
