It's been a constant refrain in New Zealand rugby: "We've got the depth; let them go - someone'll take their place; there's always a promising young guy who can take over."

That kind of talk stopped abruptly after the first three weeks of the All Blacks' international calendar. New Zealand rugby may not exactly be digging the bottom of the barrel but the spade is clanging alarmingly against the sides as excavations reveal the emptiness of our stocks.

Finally, the player drain chooks have come home to roost.

That much was clear from last weekend's highly uncomfortable 27-6 victory over an overjoyed Italy. For the first time, many in playing, coaching, media and spectator ranks felt that ground zero had been reached; we had arrived at the point where close to a critical mass of people not really up to the jersey had been selected in it.

This wasn't just a poor test match; a below-par performance. Some of the more senior players were also at fault. It was, apart from a few rare moments, a worrying signal that maybe All Black rugby had slipped a notch. Maybe two. Or more.

This from the land that produced the Baby Blacks' in 1986 - when a nation rejoiced that, with the top 30 or so players banned because of their participation in the rebel Cavaliers tour of South Africa, a team of the pinkest, shiniest, raw recruits significantly dealt to a battle-hardened French side with names like Blanco, Lagisquet, Sella, Charvet, Berbizier, Dubroca, Garuet, Haget, Condom and Champ.

That 1986 team had seven of the pack making their test debut, including Herald on Sunday columnist Sean Fitzpatrick. And don't be fooled by that august name - many of his forward cohorts that day were either never heard of again or were seen only infrequently at test time. Gordon Macpherson and Brett Harvey never again pulled on the jersey and Mark Brooke-Cowden and Kevin Boroevich played only two more tests each (although the latter played 23 games for the All Blacks).

It's not selection. Graham Henry and his assistants can't be held up to ridicule as most agree, including this writer, that those selected made up pretty much the strongest team available, taking injuries and absences into account. There is a case to be made that Henry didn't need to make seven changes - four of them rotated - from the second test against the French and that Tony Woodcock and Jimmy Cowan, to name but two, would have been handy starters against the Italians. Isaac Ross, rotated out to make way for Ali Williams originally, certainly was.

So what is to be done? The options are:

* Continue to build a new team - but this time from depleted stocks where, at the least, ascension to valued All Black' ranks will take much longer than normal and bring a few unpleasant defeats.

* Select All Blacks who reside overseas.

* * *

That last option is the one most reviled. Most knowledgeable judges contend that opening the door to All Black selection would increase the offshore flow and ruin domestic rugby.