All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is finding the silver lining in injuries affecting his recent and upcoming selections for Test matches.
An injury cloud continues to hang over Beauden Barrett with the first-five looking increasingly unlikely to feature in Saturday's final Bledisloe Cup clash with the Wallabies in Brisbane.
Barrett is still suffering the effects of a headknock during the All Blacks' 25-24 win over the Springboks 10 days ago and trained by himself yesterday under the watchful eye of team doctors.
Canterbury and Crusaders first-five Richie Mo'unga has been called in as cover for the Test which Hansen is seeing as another good opportunity to test new combinations.
“The guys have done really well,” he said.
“Some have surprised us and some have just confirmed what we already knew and I think we’ll get the rewards from it in 2019 when everyone’s looking to go to that World Cup.
“We’re building our own depth.”
Chiefs sensation Damian McKenzie has starred for the All Blacks since taking over the No.15 jersey for Ben Smith who opted to take a sabbatical for the rest of the season after playing in the first two Bledisloe Tests this year.
20-year-old Rieko Ioane has also cemented himself as the new go-to left wing with seven tries in seven Tests this year against the British and Irish Lions and Rugby Championship opponents.
The All Blacks play the Wallabies on Saturday night at 10:00pm NZT.
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