The All Blacks’ ability to seal the Rugby Championship with two rounds remaining highlighted the burgeoning gap between the world champions and the rest of the sides, though the team were not prepared to let their final games become footnotes.
 Their 41-13 bonus-point victory over the Springboks in Christchurch on Saturday gave them their 15th successive win stretching back to last year and the title was confirmed when Australia beat Argentina 36-20 in Perth later.
 The All Blacks, playing a fast-paced and high skill style, have the maximum 20 points from the four games, with Australia second on nine points. The best total the Wallabies could finish with is 19. South Africa have six and Argentina five points.
 “It’s very satisfying,” assistant coach Ian Foster told reporters yesterday. “I guess wrapping up the Championship is more of a consequence of us playing some really good rugby and the way some of the other results have gone.”
 “Certainly pleasing to have it done after four rounds, but in reality it doesn’t change much, does it? We’ve still got two games on the road, our expectations are high and I’m sure the public’s are too so we’ve got to keep going.”
 The All Blacks travel to Buenos Aires this Friday for their next match against Argentina on October 1 before they finish the competition against the struggling Springboks in Durban a week later.
 If they win those two matches, they would extend their winning run to 17 consecutive matches, equalling a world record amongst top-tier nations that was achieved by the Springboks from 1997-98 and the All Blacks from 1965-69 and again in 2013-14.
 The challenge of facing fired-up Pumas and Springboks sides in their own backyards aside, coach Steve Hansen has already said he is likely to shake up his selections to ensure players do not burn out before the end of year tour.
 Completing the Rugby Championship schedule undefeated would also mean the third Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia at Eden Park on October 22 would take on some actual meaning as the potential record breaker.
 Of added significance is that the Wallabies have also halted two lengthy winning runs by the All Blacks in recent years, stopping their streak at 16 games in 2012 with an 18-18 draw. They then stopped the 2014 streak at 17 games with a 12-12 draw.
 Foster said the history was one of the factors driving the team, though making sure they improved each week was far more important as they build towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
 “It sounds a little bit more interesting,” he said of the record before adding their overall focus was more long-term. “It’s about challenging ourselves to be the best we can be.”

Injuries take toll on All Blacks
New Zealand’s plans to reshuffle their line-up after wrapping up the Rugby Championship may be forced rather than manufactured because of a mounting injury toll.
 Aaron Cruden (groin) and Sam Cane (hamstring) have already been ruled out of the series while there is a question mark over Jerome Kaino. Kaino damaged his left shoulder during Saturday’s 41-13 victory over South Africa in Christchurch and may miss this Friday’s flight to Argentina for their next Rugby Championship match on October 1.
 The thumping win over the Springboks gave the All Blacks an unbeatable lead in the championship with their away matches against Argentina and South Africa still to come.
 Kaino was injured when he fell awkwardly in a tackle, and assistant coach Ian Foster said Sunday it would take a few days to know whether he would be fit to travel.
 “He will be in a sling for a few days. We will make a decision later in the week, about whether he comes,” Foster said. “It is the sort of thing that comes right pretty quickly, but we just have to wait three or four days for it to settle down.”
 Waisake Naholo, who pulled a hamstring in the opening match against Australia, and George Moala, who injured a knee during the June series against Wales, are expected to travel.
 The All Blacks, with a relatively stable line-up, have dominated the series amassing 24 tries with bonus point wins in all four matches, prompting head coach Steve Hansen to say it was time to give more players international experience.
 Springboks coach Allister Coetzee attributed the All Blacks’ domination of the game to their constant forward planning to have a succession line in place for any eventuality.
 Hansen said that policy was not about to change as the world champions faced the daunting prospect of seven Tests in seven countries over an eight-week period. “We’re getting to that point in the season where we have to roll the dice anyway,” he said without elaborating on the changes ahead. “You can’t keep playing the same athletes the whole time and expect to have that same zing.”