All Black coach Steve Hansen said yesterday the selectors would think about the team for the Hamilton test in the next day or so, but the emphasis would be on winning the game rather than trying out combinations.
''We have not really looked too far ahead but we will sit down in the next 24 hours and come up with some decisions. I think that first and foremost is we have to win the next test and play well. We will try and pick the team that can do that,'' Hansen said.
Players coming under pressure for their spots will be loose forward Liam Messam, with Kieran Read due to come back into the team, first five-eighth Aaron Cruden and winger Cory Jane, while the front row may also come under examination.
Hansen said Read, who is coming back after concussion issues, appears to be on the improve.
''Read should be right. He has had a little bit of contact and he has come through that. Obviously there is a bit of anxiety floating about because he has been concussed.
''But the more he gets into training, the more comfortable he gets. We will make a decision on that on Thursday.''
Fullback Israel Dagg is struggling with injury and is no chance to play in Hamilton as he fights an issue with his patella tendon in his left knee.
''My understanding with patella tendons is it is an over-use thing,'' Hansen said.
''You have got to keep them moving. He will keep exercising. The issue he has got is his left knee is causing him to change his kicking style, which is then causing his quad to become sore.
''He has already pulled that quad once before. It is a matter of fixing his knee so we can fix the quad.''
Jane had a forgettable first half but bounced back well in the second, Hansen said, and he hoped the confidence Jane gained from his second 40 minutes could flow into the next game.
Highlanders winger Patrick Osborne will join the squad this week, and may get a chance to take the field if Hansen and his fellow selectors decide to dump Jane.
The All Blacks logged their 16th straight victory, and the record for consecutive wins by a major test nation is not far away.
The record sits on 17, held jointly by the All Blacks and the Springboks.
Hansen was not getting too concerned over the record or what England was going to do in selecting its team in Hamilton.
''We are just trying to work on our own performance. If you get the win, then that is just a byproduct of working hard and putting on a good performance. We improved on what we did last week but there are still areas of the game that we can work on.''
Hansen said it had been a special test on Saturday night.
''I think we played better. I'm not sure we played as well as we could have, but we definitely played better. But so did the opposition and it was a great test match.
''Sometimes games like this are built up and they do not quite meet the expectations. But I think tonight's did.
''Both teams played really positively. No-one would have left not satisfied with what they saw.''
Down 10-6 at halftime, the team was not hitting the panic button in the changing room, Hansen said.
''There was not a lot said at halftime. There was not a lot of of carry-on. We just talked about what we had been doing and things we could do a lot better.
''As a group it was about believing with what we were doing and if we stuck with it, it would come. And it did.''