KEY POINTS:
There has been rotation, reconditioning and now All Black coach Graham Henry is trialing a hybrid of the two by loading the bench with tight forwards for the Portugal clash.
The purpose of having Anton Oliver, Carl Hayman, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu on the bench this weekend
is twofold; the All Black coaches want all 30 players in the squad to feature in the first two games - and they also want to get all of their big units on the paddock.
The physiological make-up of the front five is such that they lose conditioning quicker than the greyhounds out wide. And with the All Blacks having come into this tournament deliberately under-cooked, the coaches became a little uneasy about the prospect of so many big men watching the inevitable rout in Lyon tomorrow from the comfort of Stade de Gerland's shady stands.
So rather than load the bench with the usual cover, the coaching panel hit upon the novel idea of stacking it with tight forwards who will be asked to play out of position.
Carl Hayman is likely to appear at lock and Keven Mealamu somewhere in the backrow.
That might be a little disrespectful to Portugal but this is not a policy that will ever get another airing. And besides, the players all say they are looking forward to it.
"The more game time you can get the better it is for a frontrower," said Mealamu.
"You need it because you don't do as much running as the loosies and you need the contact to make sure your body is in the right shape when you come to the bigger games."
Should Mealamu find himself in the loose forward trio, the shift will not be entirely alien.
Most of his schoolboy rugby was played in the No 7 jersey, in which he earned age-grade honours.
He moved to hooker when he started filling out and the prospect of playing flanker in a test is one he is viewing with excitement and also a hint of trepidation.
"When you are doing your scrums [as a hooker] and running, your legs just take a hammering," he said.
"You come up from a really hard scrum where you have been pushing for four or five seconds, your legs just feel like concrete.
"I suppose it will be a different sort of fatigue, more the lungs than the legs.
"But it is quite exciting being able to play at international level in a different position."
Mealamu and the coaching panel are even hoping a stint out of position will be of benefit when normal service resumes next week.
The All Black game plan is built on explosive power and the selectors have stressed they want their hookers to contribute beyond their core skills.
Mealamu says it's important not to leave anything in the tank, and he's hopeful his stint in the backrow will help him reinforce that attitude.
"Very rarely does a hooker play a full game now, you are either going to come off or you are going to be getting on for the dying part of the game.
"When you are starting, straight after halftime you really want to let rip. You know someone else is going to be coming on soon, so you make sure you really bust a gut.
"You don't save anything because once you are off you are off."
