See a couple more Chiefs added to the squad with Tanerau Latimer flying over earlier to Argentina as cover for Kieren Reid. Now Ben Afeaki.
North Harbour prop Ben Afeaki is heading to South Africa to join the All Blacks as cover for Owen Franks.
Franks will be assessed today after succumbing to a groin injury half way through yesterday's 33-15 win over the Pumas in La Plata.
"Owen is pretty sore," All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said today.
"We'll have to make a decision what we're going to do with him, but everyone else is fine."
Afeaki is considered New Zealand's next best tight-head prop and, therefore, the one-test All Black has packed his bags for the biggest occasion of his career.
After an impressive second-half cameo against the Pumas, where he helped halt a backpedalling scrum, Charlie Faumuina would start in Franks' absence.
Also under an injury cloud was Richie McCaw, although he trained with the team in Argentina and ran on as water boy in the Test at La Plata. He's expected to return to the starting team this weekend.
"If he's confident I'm confident," Hansen said of McCaw's rapid recovery from a medial ligament knee injury.
"He's a good judge of his own body. Watching him train all week he got better and better. He'll be fine."
Hansen expects the magnitude of the occasion in Johannesburg will force the All Blacks to lift their standards.
On some levels he admits they may have been distracted by the looming Boks challenge. That dangerous mindset could have contributed to the lacklustre start.
A repeat of those early efforts against the Pumas could be fatal this week.
"It's difficult isn't it? You sit in a bus for 75 minutes to get the ground and it's raining," he said.
"Maybe as much as you have prepared well subconsciously you know there's a big one coming the next week. Maybe that's the reason we started slow.
"We'll go up five or six notches from last night pretty naturally which comes with playing someone like South Africa. We'll need to play a lot better if we're going to beat them."
Before taking on the Pumas, Hansen watched the Boks put away the Wallabies 28-8 in Cape Town.
He feels they will be gutted not to get the four try bonus point but won't need any added motivation to front at Ellis Park.
Massage, sleep and rehydration are the recovery recipe for the All Blacks as they board another 12-hour flight to South Africa today.
Unlike last week, when they arrived in Argentina on Saturday, Hansen's men will have six-days to prepare. After losing one day in the air there will also be a low-key focus to training early the week as players acclimatise to their third time zone.
The travel just adds a little bit extra to it. It's a long way around," Hansen said.
"For two weeks you do a lot of time zone changing. Sleep will be important once we get there too."
- © Fairfax NZ News
