All Blacks flanker Sam Cane says he's unsure about the future of his loose forward partnership with Ardie Savea, following last weekend's 47-26 loss to the Wallabies in Perth.
Arguably the best player in Super Rugby this year, Savea's position within the All Blacks heading into the World Cup is under somewhat of a cloud, competing with Sam Cane for minutes as the first-choice openside flanker.
The pair started together at Optus Stadium on Saturday night, with Savea playing as a number six for the first time in his Test career, although he switched later with captain and No 8 Kieran Read, heading for the back of the scrum.
Speaking to media in Auckland today, Cane said that although he was happy with the combination between himself, Savea and Read, the future of the trio was now in the hands of selectors.
"I thought Ardie did an outstanding job at the back of the scrum," he said. "Particularly the whole forward pack, once we got down to seven men."
The team played with 14 men for the entire second half after Scott Barrett was given a red card just before the break.
"It's not really for us to judge how the loose forward trio went, to be fair. It's up to us to go out there and do our role and play the best we can.
"It's up to selectors to see if that's the way they want to go."
Cane and Savea could be in line for another combined effort this weekend, with the Wallabies heading to Auckland to face the All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup.
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