All Blacks: Slade problem for tour

There's a depth of character to Colin Slade that enabled him to not only land the best pressure goal-kick of the season, but also to make him the sort of player the All Blacks are going to want around.

And that has made life kind of awkward as the All Blacks announce their squad for Europe today. While Slade is absolutely a man the All Blacks want to have, there are some they want more.

Slade might be included and he might not. He and Ryan Crotty are seen as the two most vulnerable as coach Steve Hansen has already confirmed Daniel Carter will be included and Sonny Bill Williams is almost certainly going to be taken, too, having earned an exemption to be picked.

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So Slade and Crotty are vulnerable although All Black coach Steve Hansen threw a late curve ball yesterday by revealing that he may now be taking 34 rather than 33 players.

If Slade does miss out, that mental resilience will be important.

The last-second hero on Saturday night ... no longer required by Monday.

That's the way it could be, but Slade, who has recovered from successive broken jaws and a badly broken ankle is a tough blighter.

He'll find the mental strength to process rejection if it comes and find his way back into a black jersey.

If indeed Slade is not required to tour the US and Europe it will also say plenty about the quality of personnel the All Blacks have at their disposal.

It typifies where this All Black team sits in terms of positional depth and mental strength that the fourth choice first-five could take the helm for the last 10 minutes and not one of his teammates didn't believe in him. Not one All Black didn't believe they were somehow going to miraculously find the six points in the last three minutes that they needed to win the game.

Not one All Black had any doubt Slade would calmly knock the last conversion between the sticks as he did. Not one All Black thought Slade would be dwelling on the big mistake he'd made a few minutes earlier when he failed to find touch.

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Everyone in the squad believed he'd nail it. As Kieran Read said: "He is that type of player."

By that he meant Slade has that calm, process-orientated mind that allows him to fit into the All Black framework. He has that ability to block out what he doesn't need to be thinking about.

At the time, Slade's greed in trying to carve an extra metre or two, only to keep the ball in play, looked like it may have cost his side the last chance they wanted to have a crack.

"I was disappointed not to kick that one out," he said. "That was a basic schoolboy error. When I wandered over to the kick [conversion] the boys were chahooing but I realised I had to put the icing on the cake. My job wasn't done.

"I was just thankful I had the opportunity to correct things personally but then it came to a point where I thought I'm going to have to kick this. I had the belief. I felt pretty good. I have done a bit and I back myself. I had to treat it like another kick which I know is easier said then done.

"It was a great way to contribute to the team's performance."