Umaga was last night driven to hospital for scans on his left knee but immediately after the game All Blacks coaching co-ordinator Robbie Deans expected he had suffered damage to his posterior cruciate ligament.

But with the results of the scan now in the All Blacks management, as has been the tendency since John Mitchell took the reins, are giving little away.

It is similar to the approach they took to lock Ali Williams, who fractured a foot in the build-up to the World Cup but was given every opportunity to prove his fitness.

So much so, in fact, that Williams was only passed fit to travel on the morning New Zealand left Auckland to begin their campaign, though he is still a week away from actually being available to play.

“The guys are aware of what the situation is but we are in a holding pattern,” said a member of the All Blacks’ team management today.

“No decisions have been made yet. We have got options but will see what happens. We have got time on our side.”

The midfield options available to Mitchell for their next Pool D match, against Canada on Friday, indicate just why the All Blacks are considered favourites to leave these shores with the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Centres Daniel Carter and Ma’a Nonu picked holes through the ragged Italian defence, while Aaron Mauger will be back in contention this week after time out with a groin strain.

Add fullback Mils Muliaina, who plays centre in the Super 12, and Leon MacDonald into the equation and the All Blacks are well covered

“Depth will be an important part of the campaign and we have prepared accordingly,” said Mitchell.

“There will be a lot more twists and turns in this competition before it ends. Unfortunately we have to deal with this situation and we have got to move on.”

No time-frame has been placed on the Umaga situation, either with regard to his fitness or the naming of any potential replacement.

“We have got to do our homework when he get back to base, look on the situation of the players that are available and look at the team mix, how we can improve the team mix as a result of the injury, if that occurs,” said Mitchell.

The Italians were committed and spirited, but under the cosh for large swathes of the game they did not have a defence sophisticated enough to keep the flying All Black backs at bay.

Although the scoreline and try count of 11-1 indicated a walk-over, there were elements the All Blacks will need to work on.

“The guys have been running against themselves and they never get quite as excited about running with each other as they do a genuine opponent,” said Mitchell.

“They were a bit rusty early, tried to force things but that was inevitable.

“There was a lot of skill, but also a lot of errors. Our error rate was far too high, but that is part of getting back into competition.

“There are elements within the game which are really promising and if we can settle and get more accurate in our execution early in the game we will bear the fruit of that.”

The outlook for the Azzurri, though, is not altogether bleak.

They tested New Zealand, broke their defensive line on occasion and were committed, if outclassed, in defence.

Even though the All Blacks took advantage of weary legs and sapping energy as the game wore on, captain for the day Carlo Checchianato was proud the spirit never wavered.

“It is never possible to be happy about a loss. You can take positives, you can be happy with the commitment,” said the veteran lock, appearing in his fourth World Cup.

“But when you are playing such a strong team there is not a lot you can do, we certainly tried and maybe one day dreams will come true.”