Battle-hardened All Blacks find strength in depth ahead of World Cup

MELBOURNE, Oct 19 : Hard lessons from a brutal tour of South Africa appear to have paid off for Dave Rennie's All Blacks, with the team able to shrug off a litany of injuries and crush Australia in the Bledisloe Cup series.

It will be a depleted New Zealand squad heading north for the final Nations Championship tests against England, Scotland and Wales, with outside back Leroy Carter added on Monday to the list of players staying home after having surgery on an ankle injury.

Shannon Frizell (knee) and Samisoni Taukei’aho (calf) may also be sidelined after suffering injuries in the win in Sydney on Saturday.

However, growing confidence in their squad depth a year out from the World Cup may outweigh the concerns.

Three successive defeats by world champions South Africa exposed shortcomings in Rennie's side but they now look stronger for the experience gained by fringe players and a return to form by veterans who had been written off.

The benefits were evident in their second successive demolition of the Wallabies, a 43-21 triumph following their 50-19 stroll at Eden Park.

The players unavailable for Sydney could have filled much of a starting 15, with Ardie Savea, Richie Mo'unga and Luke Jacobson among them.

They lost Jordie Barrett before kick-off and Quinn Tupaea early with concussion, but there was little sign of disruption as the All Blacks ran in six first-half tries at Stadium Australia to all but kill off the game by the interval.

“We’ve used 50-odd players this year, creating depth and competition for places. We’re missing a few influential players but other guys step up,” said Rennie. 

With Savea and Jacobson missing, Peter Lakai and Wallace Sititi stood in at the back row with Tupou Vaa'i, the trio leaving the Wallabies'