This piece breaks down what Dave Rennie's heavily rotated All Blacks side for the series-levelling fourth Test in Baltimore reveals about where New Zealand stand heading into a World Cup cycle. The central thread is a depth comparison with the Boks — Erasmus has run essentially the same 23 for three weeks while Rennie has been forced to shuffle, and Baltimore will show whether New Zealand's wider player pool can actually perform when called upon, not just impress in Super Rugby. Mo'unga's return after three years away is framed less as a triumphant recall and more as a cold audition under a coaching staff that owes him nothing — his connection with Roigard and Jordie Barrett will be scrutinised closely. The set-piece analysis is damning: four scrum penalties and a penalty try conceded in Soweto has forced Rennie to replace the entire front row, with the piece pointing out that Jason Ryan once achieved scrum parity with South Africa under Foster, so the standard is known — the All Blacks just aren't meeting it. Blackadder, Ioane and Beauden Barrett are each assessed as players using Baltimore as a career crossroads, with the piece notably suggesting Father Time is beginning to catch up with the latter.