All Blacks coach Ian Foster has highlighted the midfield and loose forwards as potentially troublesome areas for selection, as the 2023 Rugby World Cup creeps closer.
With just over 16 months and 18 test matches to go until the next tournament in France, Foster and his support staff face the difficult task of narrowing down their player pool for the All Blacks' tilt at a fourth title.
With no shortage of options in any position, the All Blacks selectors have an unenviable job choosing which players to leave out over the next year.
In particular, midfield looms as a puzzle, with more than one player putting their hand up during Super Rugby Pacific.
Current test incumbents Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane, Quinn Tupaea and David Havili face stiff competition from the likes of Leicester Fainga'anuku and Alex Nankivell, while former NZ Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will almost certainly be in contention, as he adjusts back to the 15-a-side game.
Loose forward is another area overflowing with quality, with Sam Cane, Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Shannon Frizell and several others all in the running for limited spots.
Papalii's form could lead to some difficult conversations for Foster, with the Blues captain putting forward a very real case to keep former captain Cane out of the All Blacks' first choice XV.
"We've got some big decisions to make," Foster told Sky Sport's Breakdown. "It's well documented, we've got some big decisions to make in midfield, we've probably got some big decisions to make in the loose forwards.
"I'd also put the front row in that category as well. We were forced to take eight props with us last year - we won't be taking eight props this year, so there will be some tough decisions.
"The last two years, we've had a lot of opportunities for a number of new players to come in and put their hands up. Many of them have come in and played really, really well.
"If you look at some of our loose forwards, some of the versatility we've got, I guess, the Ethan Blackadders, Akira [Ioane] who's coming back, the rise of Dalton [Papalii] have all added a bit of complexity, but that's exciting for us.
Foster added that the All Blacks will select a squad size of about 36 players for the upcoming three-test series against Ireland in July, before the Rugby Championship.
Even with that luxury, the World Cup squad size limit of 31 will leave Foster having to tell five players they're not travelling to France.
The circumstances around Foster's tenure as All Blacks coach - played entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic - hasn't helped. With the nature of long tours and the inability to bring in replacements, Foster concedes he has too many players to choose from.
With the countdown to 2023 currently at 18 tests, he admits it's time to start finalising his plans for the World Cup.
"If you look at a normal World Cup cycle, you spend two years cementing your culture, your team, your plan," Foster added. "You spend your third year really building your depth and honing it down, and then your fourth year, you go and do it at a World Cup.
"We've probably had to flip that over. The circumstance we got dealt, we basically had to leave our shores with big squads - we've really had a depth strategy the last two years.
"This year, we've really got to hone that right down. In many ways, while picking the 34, 36 man squad will be tough - and it always is - a lot of our energy right now is on the combinations from within the XV down to the 23.
"This year, I think you'll see us focus more on cementing combinations and having a bit more continuity in how we select the group."
