Raft of injuries disrupt All Blacks’ plans

September 21, and this last gallop before then presented an opportunity to get minutes under the belt of certain players, although the exclusions of prop Atu Moli and halfback Brad Weber from the 23 illustrate Hansen’s desire to narrow his focus to those in the plans for their World Cup opener.

‘‘The key for this game is that we want to give as many people as we think we’re going to use against South Africa, game time,’’ Hansen said.

‘‘And obviously there’s some guys we didn’t want to use, because they’ve got slight niggles.’’

Going off Hansen’s rationale, it’s rather surprising then that first-choice hooker Dane Coles isn’t in the mix, with Codie Taylor given a start and Liam Coltman a chance at rare minutes, from the bench.

The other feature of the pack is that Cane’s absence means a start for Matt Todd, while on the bench Scott Barrett returns from suspension and Luke Jacobson is set for his second test appearance.

In the backline, Rieko Ioane’s tight calf has robbed him of a chance at redemption, with Hansen confirming he was going to play the 22-year-old, who was dropped for Bledisloe Cup II a fortnight ago, when George Bridge shone in his place in the 36-0 drubbing of the Wallabies in Auckland.

The niggles to Goodhue and Williams are offset by the return from a broken thumb of Ryan Crotty, but it means yet another chop-and-change combination in midfield, with Goodhue having injured his hamstring early in the loss to the Wallabies in Perth last month, and Williams feeling calf tightness at training this week after a good showing on return at Eden Park.

With Mo’unga’s shoulder still not right after the knock he took in Bledisloe II, it means Beauden Barrett returns to first five-eighth and Ben Smith gets a chance back at fullback.

After seemingly losing his mojo on the wing, Smith was, like Ioane, overlooked for the team’s last test, when Sevu Reece pressed his claims in style.

Hansen acknowledged the 33-year-old, 79-test veteran had to rediscover the belief in himself, and was confident in seeing that happen.

‘‘We’ve stripped the paint right back,’’ he said.

‘‘I want to see Bender just being Bender – trust his instincts and don’t over-think things, just get out there and play, big smile on his face and enjoy it.

‘‘It’s about a couple of things going right, and then you’re away again. Great players will always go through a little bit of adversity, and that adversity will affect them from a confidence point of view. But they always bounce back.’’

Mo’unga’s absence also opens the door for a potential test debut from the bench for non-world Cup squad member Josh Ioane.