Wellington : Despite four crushing wins over the world's second and third-best sides in the Tri-Nations, New Zealand will hold off tinkering with their squad until after their trip to South Africa, coach Graham Henry has said.
The All Blacks travel to Johannesburg this weekend needing only a point next Saturday to secure the southern hemisphere trophy and are battling a growing temptation to blood new players in preparation for next year's World Cup at home.
Henry said last year's thumping losses to eventual champions South Africa had made the selection panel cautious, and at the cost of handing rookie flyhalf Aaron Cruden his first start.
"We went through a bad patch and got beaten by South Africa three times last year and the selection group just wanted to make sure we were pretty solid this season," Henry said.
"In hindsight we should have played Aaron in Hamilton [against Wales]. It will happen sooner rather than later, though."
The current battle-hardened lineup has swept New Zealand to 13 successive victories including the 20-10 victory over Australia in Christchurch on August 7, which ensured the All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup and matched their best nine-game winning streak against the Wallabies.
"It has been going well so far because there was a feeling in New Zealand after the Super 14 final that we would not be able to match the Springboks," said Henry.
