Mils Muliaina injured his hamstring against Portugal. Photo / Getty Images
All Blacks coach Graham Henry brushed it off as a minor tear, but behind the scenes you can bet the selectors will be twitchy over fullback Mils Muliaina's health.
The premier No 15 lasted less than seven minutes against Portugal this morning after damaging a hamstring.
Muliaina is
integral to the All Blacks' plans. With 53 test appearances behind him since 2003, he is a senior figure in the backline operation and a calm, unruffled figure.
Henry suggested Muliaina might be ready in time to face Scotland next Monday (NZ time) in Edinburgh in what is expected to be New Zealand's toughest pool game.However, he also admitted he might not be.
The point is Muliaina is too valuable to come back too soon and you can be certain the selectors won't take that punt if there's even a small suggestion that it would worsen his condition with the serious stuff fast approaching.
In any case, Leon MacDonald's form against Portugal, coupled with an encouraging display in the opening pool game against Italy in Marseille, has been a bright spot in the campaign so far.
MacDonald has been full of running, looking for opportunities and has prospered in both games when broken play has offered chances to find space.
As for the only two players yet to get any game time out of the squad of 30 - loose forward/lock Reuben Thorne and lock Keith Robinson - Henry sounded optimistic after the Portugal romp.
Thorne has made big progress after damaging a leg and sounds ready to return against Scotland, either off the bench or in the starting XV.
Expect the former, as Henry has flagged the Scots as the team he wants to put out his best XV against, and that means Jerry Collins at No 6, Chris Jack and Ali Williams at lock.
Robinson's position is slightly more complicated. Apparently he made strong progress with his injured calf, then took a couple of steps back, and is now moving forward again.
Scotland? Possibly.
There will be a player in New Zealand who has been told to be prepared to travel at short notice. The identity of those players on standby has been kept secret.
Suffice it to say the lock cover is almost certainly a player whose name starts with an F. Is it time for Mr F to fly to France, just in case?
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