Flanker Matt Todd won't get the chance to add to his 10 All Blacks caps on Saturday.

Matt Todd's groin injury has provided Ardie Savea with the chance to escape the frustrating role of being a spectator at Suncorp Stadium.

Reserve openside flanker Matt Todd injured a groin muscle during the All Blacks training, forcing him to withdraw from the test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday night. Savea has been named to replace him on the reserves bench.

This rotten turn of events for Todd, who has bounded over Savea to be ranked the second-best No 7 in New Zealand behind Sam Cane, means Savea gets an earlier than expected chance to prove a few points to the national selectors.

The good news for Todd is that his injury is not serious, and is only expected to sideline him for two weeks. Todd will also be pleased to know that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen confirmed he will be a member of the 37-man party that will be picked for the tour of the northern hemisphere next month.

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Like they did last year the All Blacks look set to once again carry three opensiders in their squad when they travel north.

Hansen, speaking after the All Blacks' captain's run at Brisbane Boys' College on Friday afternoon, also challenged Savea to arrive for work at Suncorp with an attitude after being omitted from the original 23-man team.

"He has the disappointment of not being named (prior to Todd's injury), so he is probably a little angry about that," Hansen said.

"I am sure he will come out wanting to prove a point. He is a good player, and someone we have a lot of faith in. We were looking to give him a bit of a breather, but that is not possible now."

Savea's ability to snap tackles and create line breaks is well documented. What he is being asked to do more often is emulate Cane and Todd in being able to put more pressure on the ball in the rucks, to either dig out turnovers or slow the delivery for the opposition.

"He has got a skill-set that can be challenging with the ball in hand," Hansen noted. "We just want him to be stronger over the ball and he will look to do that I think."

Crusaders stalwart Todd wasn't included in the All Blacks' initial squad for either the Rugby Championship or the British and Irish Lions' tour of New Zealand. Despite that, he has made two appearances this season, starting in the 36-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires when Cane was rested and coming off the bench in the 25-24 win over South Africa in Cape Town the following weekend.

Meanwhile, All Blacks captain Kieran Read described the Wallabies as being "a lot more polished"; the Aussies go into this dead rubber with no hope of winning back the Bledisloe following losses in Sydney and Dunedin, but anyone telling Read that they weren't a unit capable of burning the New Zealanders could risk a flick on the ear.

"They have got talent, about that. They are certainly putting it together as a full team at the moment. Their motivation is pretty high."

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All Blacks: Damian McKenzie, Waisake Naholo, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Lima Sopoaga, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read (captain), Sam Cane, Liam Squire, Scott Barrett, Sam Whitelock, Nepo Laulala, Dane Coles, Kane Hames. Reserves: Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Anton Lienert-Brown, David Havili.