BRING IT ON: Brodie Retallick is embracing the competition among the All Blacks' second row stocks on tour.

Big Brodie Retallick is embracing the competition that's about to go up a level among the All Blacks' second row stock on tour.

With Luke Romano finally back on the field after a prolonged spell out with a groin injury and towering Cantab Dominic Bird also shaking off his own pectoral muscle problem to tuck away a tidy test debut in Tokyo, the All Blacks are suddenly awash with tall blokes.

But make no mistake Retallick and his regular test partner Sam Whitelock are the pair they're all chasing – a group that also includes Wellington's Jeremy Thrush who might suddenly find test guernseys a bit harder to come by.

Retallick has played at a consistently high level in 2013 as he's started six tests and come off the bench in two others, and will line up with aerial expert Whitelock in the first-string second row at Stade de France on Sunday morning (NZ time).

Not that the strapping 2.02-metre, 117-kilogram 22 year-old is taking anything for granted after he was deliberately left kicking his toes on the bench in Tokyo to allow Thrush, Bird and, later, utility man Steven Luatua to log the locking time.

Coach Steve Hansen didn't need to see anything from the 21-cap Retallick that he hasn't already watched over and over from one of his high-workrate forwards in this so-far perfect test year. The big Chief is also rapidly adding a round-the-paddock game to the core role that he performs with such efficiency.

Asked what he wanted to achieve on this trip, with tests against England and Ireland to follow this weekend's French entree in Paris, Retallick showed he's already got the game face on.

"Just going out and trying to build on what I've done so far this season and doing my part in the team to help us win," he declared.

And the lurking presence of Romano and Bird?

"Competition is good in this team, no matter where it is," he deadpanned.

"It's going to bring out the best in everybody, and I think it's welcomed anywhere because it's good for the team."

Retallick, typically, made short work of the notion that the quest for the first perfect test year in the professional era was driving this All Blacks team. There's also a nice little winning streak against the French going on.

"I guess they [records] get touched on but it's not overly important – it's not the main focus," he said.

"We take each week as it comes and try to get in good preparation each week and make sure we put in a performance we're proud of on Saturday."

These All Blacks are definitely reading from the Steve Hansen hymn book. And that's a good thing as they keep their processes steady, and let the outcomes take care of themselves.

Retallick, though, is thrilled to be playing his first test in Paris and admits that there are a few things for the pack to think about from the 3-0 June sweep of the French in New Zealand.

"The scrums have been an ongoing work-on and they really attacked the breakdown [in June] so it's something we'll be looking to nail," he said.

Pressed on the scrums which have had their creaky moments throughout this test year – a good few no doubt caused by the new engagement regulations – Retallick admitted it could be a big week in the set piece.

"It's been a frustrating last few weeks in the scrum, but we're trying to work on getting it nailed so we can give the backs good ball to play with," he said.

You just know the black scrum will be better for the rigid presence of Retallick this week. That's just one of the many things he does at an extremely high level in this all-conquering New Zealand outfit.