Sonny Bill Williams strides out nicely, during the All Blacks' training session at the Hutt Recreation Ground on Tuesday.

Knee surgery hasn't slowed Sonny Bill Williams too much.

The second five-eighth tweaked an existing problem during the most recent All Blacks training camp and the subsequent operation was meant to prevent him from training until the end of the month.

But Williams was striding out well as the All Blacks trained at wet Hutt Recreation Ground in Wellington on Tuesday. Centre Jack Goodhue and loosehead prop Tim Perry were others to participate strongly, as their respective hamstring injuries come right.

"We knew all along it was a pretty minor type of operation and, if all things go well, it was going to be a pretty quick turnaround," All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said of Williams.

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"He's not trained fully at the moment, but he's doing enough to keep interested and it's a good learning week for him. Again, if he can take the same steps in the next four or five days, then he becomes a prospect [to play]."

GETTY IMAGES Ben Smith, right, offers a few insights into how the All Blacks broke down France's defence last week.

The third test of New Zealand's series against France, in Dunedin on June 23, looms as Williams' best chance. In the meantime there's a natural curiosity about whether Foster, and fellow selectors Steve Hansen and Grant Fox, opt for any changes this week.

The last 30 minutes of last Saturday's 52-11 win at Eden Park were fairly emphatic and, while the All Blacks definitely aren't saying so, you wonder if France have fired their best shot. There's also rather a lot of good players waiting in the wings, who wouldn't look out of place in the starting XV to play at Westpac Stadium this week.

Nehe Milner-Skudder, Waisake Naholo, Ngani Laumape, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea and Vaea Fifita are among the many who'd have to be in contention, depending on what the hierarchy want out of this series.

GETTY IMAGES It will be interesting to see if players such as Nehe Milner-Skudder can force their way into this week's All Blacks 23.

The back-three is particularly competitive. Jordie Barrett, Ben Smith and Rieko Ioane all performed well there at Eden Park, before Damian McKenzie produced an electrifying cameo at fullback. McKenzie made such an impact that continuing in the finishing role will presumably be his lot.

Whoever's in the back-three, identifying space and areas to exploit is a must, said Smith. France led the first test 11-8 at halftime, but those 40 minutes were enough to show the players and coaches what might be possible in the second spell.

Even if Smith preferred not to say exactly what.

"I probably don't want to give too much away there. It's just making sure that we're attacking the right zones and that obviously opens up opportunities in the second half if we're doing that," Smith said.

"Yeah, I find that hard to answer without giving too much away. It's just making sure as a group we're sticking to the plan and obviously the opportunities, if we're nailing that plan, will open up in the second half."

There wasn't much in the game until France lock Paul Gabrillagues was sinbinned for a high tackle, in the 51st minute, making it hard to know if the All Blacks simply capitalised on a numerical advantage or had sussed the visitors' defence?

"We had a lot of trust in the plan that we had. It's a hard question to answer...I would've backed us, with the way we were tracking, that those opportunities would've opened up no matter what the situation was," Smith said.