KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks are warming to the developing combination of Luke McAlister and Conrad Smith as the midfield answer for their opening World Cup match against Italy.
Resolving the midfield recipe is one of the major concerns of the All Blacks in this sixth global competition after numerous pairings have been tried, because of injury and form, since the international retirement of Tana Umaga.
Smith, by coach Graham Henry's reckoning, was the form centre on the tour to Europe last season and McAlister has been a strong performer this year at second five-eighths.
They have played alongside each other twice for the All Blacks in the hugely impressive 47-3 win against France at Lyon last year and in the final 45-10 tour victory against Wales in Cardiff.
Chances to pair them again in the All Blacks this year were eliminated when Smith suffered a range of injuries from a cracked eye-socket to a persistent hamstring injury.
But now that both are in apparent good health, it seems the selectors want to set them in tandem against Italy in what will be one of the side's tougher pool games.
They will have to survive some intensive training sessions when the team arrive in Marseille next week before the side is announced on Thursday to begin their quest for the Webb Ellis Cup.
If they gell as they did last year, it would probably leave the other tougher match against Scotland for Aaron Mauger and Isaia Toeava to state their claims for the probable quarter-final in Cardiff.
The panel will want to judge the midfielders in those matches rather than the expected romps against Portugal and Romania.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks eventually arrived yesterday in Corsica where they will spend two days recovering in the heat of the Mediterranean and away from the welcoming glare which awaits them in Marseille.
Their hotel is on the southern shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio, facing the Sanguinaire Islands, a resort which is moderately luxurious but nowhere near as upmarket as their hotel next week in Marseille.
While some of the facilities are a little dated, the scenery balances those concerns for guests who arrive to take advantage of the weather, views and health spa services.
Cruise ships can be seen through the regular haze docked at Ajaccio on the other side of the gulf, the ocean is full of all sorts of watercraft and behind the hotel, switchback roads take the curious high into the bushclad mountains.
The hotel is concealed down a private road flanked by private estates which run down to the sea, well away from the main public thoroughfares.
And if there are any unwelcome intruders, members of the elite French police taskforce who are assigned to the side for the entire tournament will deal with those trespassers.
The All Black group, now numbering more than 50 with the 30 players and 18 staff supplemented by several other personnel such as campaign manager Steve Cottrell, will not be pestered greatly in this rugby backwater. They can relax, swim or exercise gently in temperatures which are expected to continue to be in the mid-30s.
There are a number of secluded beaches and nearby bays where the players can unwind while the more adventurous could windsurf, jetski, take a helicopter ride from the pad at the bottom of the hotel or go deepsea fishing with coach Henry.
The squad have been booked for a gentle weekend run when they help to officially open the nearby rugby club. They will also dine together at a private restaurant the night before they fly to start their tournament in Marseille.
This respite in Corsica is meant to prime the side for the two months of hard work it will take if they are to claim the World Cup.
