It can be a minefield - wingers for Africa, literally dozens and dozens of quality loose forwards, and enough tall timber to catch even the wonkiest of throws.
But halfback is always a tricky one. There have been some good players who have worn the No9 black jersey over the years.
Sid Going, Chris Laidlaw, Dave Loveridge, Jimmy Mill, Justin Marshall and Aaron Smith spring to mind.
But it is not a long list. It is one of the positions in New Zealand rugby that has never had stunning depth.
Several of the better ones also had chinks in their armour. Going was always accused of having a slow pass. Ditto with Marshall while Laidlaw had his detractors.
That lack of depth at halfback is obvious at the moment.
All Black coach Steve Hansen has been forced to keep picking Tawera Kerr-Barlow despite his clear intention to head to French club La Rochelle at the end of the year.
On a bright note, TJ Perenara (25) yesterday put pen to paper on a four-year contract that will see him remain with Wellington, the Hurricanes and the All Blacks.
Hansen said he now considered Perenara a senior test player and leader
``[Perenara] is an incredibly competitive athlete who has taken his game to another level in recent seasons,'' Hansen said.
Perenara and Smith are the two clear picks for any All Black squad.
Well, Smith is ahead of Perenara by some distance at test level but daylight is behind them.
So why is Hansen reluctant to throw someone in there and give him a chance?
He did the same for hookers in 2013, picking a 35-year-old Andrew Hore to tour the northern hemisphere rather than pick a young rake.
In the past, Hansen and the All Blacks have stayed away from selecting players already signed to overseas clubs.
He admitted earlier this week that if he knew who the next halfback was then he would have bypassed Kerr-Barlow.
Loveridge said yesterday he was positive someone would come along to fill the hole.
``Those three [Smith, Perenara, Kerr-Barlow] have been around for a long while now and haven't really been ousted,'' Loveridge said.
``But I'm confident next year someone will be given a chance. And they'll have the benefit of having all those good players around them.
``We are lucky in that with Smith and TJ Perenara we have a couple there who are world-class. So anyone coming in has a fair way to go.''
He liked the look of Canterbury halfback Mitchell Drummond while Augustine Pulu was also still in the selectors' thinking.
Loveridge said halfback was not an easy role.
``It is the hardest position on the field. You've got to have all the skills.
``Kick, pass, tackle, be able to link. You're the first person to receive the ball in most phases.''
There is a school of thought that the obsession with high performance and identifying players very early at schools is leading to many prospective halfbacks dropping out.
Throw in the need for size at high school level and many future No9s are moving on before they have time to get to their best.
Loveridge admits some players take longer to develop.
``Some guys take a while to get up to speed and to develop that full skill set. I don't think the All Blacks ignore guys because of their size.
``Damian McKenzie is a pretty small guy and he has been with the All Blacks most of this year.''
A quick check of the New Zealand Colts teams over the past few years shows most of the halfbacks picked have gone on to play Super Rugby.
There has been the odd player who has missed out but that has to be expected.
Halfbacks - along with hookers - are never easy to pick. Many of them have the same set of skills and depend very much on what is in front of them.
An armchair ride at a national trial can go a long way to making a national team.
And, as everyone knows, once you get your name in the coaches' book it can be very hard to get out of it.
