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Pragmatic and sensible were the two key words used by All Blacks coach Graham Henry today in explaining why a fit-again Stephen Donald will wear the No 10 jersey against the Wallabies at Eden Park on Saturday night.
And it was hard to fault the old geezer's logic.
Opting for Donald ahead of Luke McAlister for this high-octane Bledisloe and Tri-Nations opener in the one contentious decision in their side was, in the final accounting, what's commonly termed a no-brainer.
It just makes perfect sense. Big match, huge occasion, and Donald simply has the most experience of playing the crucial five-eighth position to fall back on. McAlister, as he showed against Italy nearly three weeks ago, is still very much a No 10 in the making.
Still it didn't stop the three wise men agonising long and hard over the decision. They even ran McAlister in the pivot extensively through the first two days of training, despite Donald essentially proving his fitness in a thorough workout in Hamilton last Saturday.
The final call was made after training yesterday when the three coaches put their heads together to underline their favoured XV, and bench, to face the Wallabies. There was, once they'd decided that Cory Jane's form and all-round package of skills outweighed the X-factor of Josevata Rokocko, only one call that needed making. It appeared as though they were keen to give McAlister every chance, but in the end their sensible heads told them what they had to do.
"I just think it's experience there," explained Henry today. "We're asking the impossible [selecting McAlister]. Goodness me, you're playing top international rugby against one of the best teams in the world and the guy's played one game there in recent times and [you're] hoping he's going to come up, you're spinning the dice a bit.
"You've just got to be pragmatic and make the sensible decision."
When the two players were weighed up side by side, the scales tipped in Donald's favour in one crucial area, even though Henry described it as a "difficult" decision.
"Basically it came down to it being a huge ask for Luke to go in and boss a team around against a side of Australia's quality, when you've got another guy who's a quality rugby player, who played very well for the Chiefs and played well for the All Blacks in the main since he started last year.
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"It was just that experience of running the team.
"We're very confident in Steve doing that well," added Henry. "He's a quality person, he's a bright guy, and he's got that ability to know the game and call the right shots."
The fact McAlister had played so little rugby of late also worked heavily against the former Sale utility. A back strain had further limited his activity since his lone test start of the year, that unconvincing display against Italy.
Henry admitted Donald's recovery from his hamstring strain had surprised him after he'd rated his chances of playing this match as negligible when he first named the Tri-Nations squad.
"I think Stephen in the back of his mind always thought he was going to be right because he kept saying 'Ted, I'm going to be right'," said Henry. "But all the guys who are injured say that. More often than not they're not, though they like think they will be.
"So I thought 'well, he won't be right'. He caught us a bit by surprise quite frankly."
Henry said the situation the coaches found themselves in yesterday was a million miles from where they were at last week's camp in Wellington.
"On Friday last week we were thinking no McAlister, no Donald, and you probably can't pick yourself. We were starting to think 'where do we go?' Do we play Stephen Brett? Do we play Piri [Weepu] there? So it all came together well for us really."
McAlister has been named on a bench split 4-3 in the traditional manner and will likely see time later in the test.
The other notable selection of an otherwise predictable lineup was that of Wellington and Hurricanes fullback Jane on the right wing ahead of incumbent Rokocoko.
The preference for Jane ahead of the 55-test Rokocoko had come down, not only to form, but of the all-round package of skills Jane brings to a back three that will have to be on its toes to counter a challenging night from the Wallabies' dual kicking threats.
"It came down to form," said Henry of the call at No 14. "Joe's struggling with his game, though I think the light's getting brighter at the end of the tunnel. Just taking the pressure off him and him coming on [from the bench] might be good for him.
"And Cory's got a fullback's all-round skills, he's a high ball catcher, a kicker, and he's a good finisher as well. He's got good feet."
Jane clearly fits the bill right now better than Rokocoko.
There are also a couple of "new" faces on the bench, with young Cantab Owen Franks given the backup prop responsibilities and Jason Eaton coming in as second-row cover as well as blindside flank. Kieran Read will deputise at Nos 6 and 8, with Rodney So'oialo designated Richie McCaw's stand-in should that be required.
McCaw, who returns to the starting XV together with So'oialo and Sitiveni Sivivatu, will captain the All Blacks in his 71st test and 200th first-class game.
There are 10 changes all told to the team that took the field against Italy, though nothing should be read into that given the number returning from injury and the fact that it was regarded as very much a second-tier test by the All Blacks.
McCaw will resume his rivalry with veteran Wallabies No 7 George Smith, who will be playing his 100th test match.
And loosehead prop Tony Woodcock will be hopeful of continuing his try-scoring feats against the trans-Tasman rivals - he has touched down five times against Australia in the last two years.
The Wallabies haven't won at Eden Park since 1986 and are on a 10-game losing streak there. The All Blacks also haven't lost at the Auckland venue to anyone since France won there in 1994.
The Wallabies are searching for their first win in New Zealand since 2001, with the All Blacks victorious in the eight Bledisloe tests on Kiwi soil since then.
All told the All Blacks and Wallabies have played each other 156 times since 1903, with 106 wins to the All Blacks, 45 to Australia and five draws.
NEW ZEALAND: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan; 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Joe Rokocoko.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The return of bruising No 8 Wycliff Palu is the only change to the Wallabies starting XV for Saturday night's Tri-Nations and Bledisloe opener in Auckland against the All Blacks.
Palu comes in for Richard Brown at the back of the scrum, with the Western Force loose forward moving to the blindside flank in the only alteration to the XV that started the 22-6 win over France in Sydney last month.
Palu has successfully negotiated two club matches for Manly in recent weeks, coming back from a hand injury.
The 26-year-old who will be playing his 29th test broke two separate bones in his hand while playing for the NSW Waratahs during the Super 14. He was brought back into the Tri-Nations squad after missing the Wallabies' opening four matches of the year.
Palu essentially takes the place of utility forward Dean Mumm, with Brown switching from the back of the scrum to the blindside flank position, where he will start a test for the first time.
Mumm is included on a bench that features a five-two split, with Queensland Reds halfback Will Genia and 19-year-old James O'Connor the only backline replacements listed.
The forward-orientated make-up on the bench allows for the inclusion of two openside flankers, David Pocock and Phil Waugh.
The 21-year-old Genia, who is a newcomer to the Wallabies squad, will become the 835th player to have appeared for Australia in test matches should he take the field at Eden Park.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said the selection represented the strongest combination.
"We have made good progress, and the relative consistency of our selection reflects that, but no one is getting ahead of themselves. Playing New Zealand at Eden Park is going to be a major step up on what we have faced so far," Deans said.
"You only have to look at the history in terms of the All Blacks' outstanding record at Eden Park and their current circumstance, to appreciate the size of the task that is in front of us."
Deans noted that the All Blacks' current circumstance, both in terms of the level of expectations around the game and the personnel who are returning to the team, made for an almost identical pre-game scenario to last year's corresponding match at the same venue, where New Zealand bolted to a 21-10 halftime advantage and forged on to win 39-10.
"We were simply not good enough and got found out in a big way during this match last year. Saturday night, returning to the same venue, offers us an opportunity to see how much progress we have made as a group in the time since," Deans said.
Significantly, 12 of the players who have been named in the starting lineup today also started for Australia on its most recent visit to Eden Park.
The Wallabies cross the Tasman having dispatched the Barbarians (55-7), Italy (31-8 and 34-12) and France (22-6) so far this year.
Australia has not conceded a try in its last 197 minutes of play since Italian winger Kaine Robertson cracked the Wallabies defence in the 43rd minute of his team's 8-31 loss in Canberra.
Flanker George Smith's selection sees him named to play his 100th test match on the same day that he celebrates his 29th birthday.
"It's an outstanding achievement," Deans said. "Hopefully we can do the occasion justice as a team."
The Wallabies depart for Auckland tomorrow. They do so well aware that Australia last won at Eden Park in 1986.
New Zealand has won the last 10 trans-Tasman tests in Auckland, and has not been defeated at Eden Park by any country since France prevailed 23-20 in 1994, 20-matches ago.
The Auckland visit also heralds the start of the annual Bledisloe Cup rivalry, with the Wallabies required to win three of the four tests to relieve the New Zealanders of the trophy, which Australia hasn't held since it was surrendered to an All Black team co-coached by Deans in 2003.
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess; 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Richard Brown/, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm 19 Phil Waugh, 20 David Pocock, 21 Will Genia, 22 James O'Connor.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/2593273/Palu-bolsters-Wallabies-back-row
And it was hard to fault the old geezer's logic.
Opting for Donald ahead of Luke McAlister for this high-octane Bledisloe and Tri-Nations opener in the one contentious decision in their side was, in the final accounting, what's commonly termed a no-brainer.
It just makes perfect sense. Big match, huge occasion, and Donald simply has the most experience of playing the crucial five-eighth position to fall back on. McAlister, as he showed against Italy nearly three weeks ago, is still very much a No 10 in the making.
Still it didn't stop the three wise men agonising long and hard over the decision. They even ran McAlister in the pivot extensively through the first two days of training, despite Donald essentially proving his fitness in a thorough workout in Hamilton last Saturday.
The final call was made after training yesterday when the three coaches put their heads together to underline their favoured XV, and bench, to face the Wallabies. There was, once they'd decided that Cory Jane's form and all-round package of skills outweighed the X-factor of Josevata Rokocko, only one call that needed making. It appeared as though they were keen to give McAlister every chance, but in the end their sensible heads told them what they had to do.
"I just think it's experience there," explained Henry today. "We're asking the impossible [selecting McAlister]. Goodness me, you're playing top international rugby against one of the best teams in the world and the guy's played one game there in recent times and [you're] hoping he's going to come up, you're spinning the dice a bit.
"You've just got to be pragmatic and make the sensible decision."
When the two players were weighed up side by side, the scales tipped in Donald's favour in one crucial area, even though Henry described it as a "difficult" decision.
"Basically it came down to it being a huge ask for Luke to go in and boss a team around against a side of Australia's quality, when you've got another guy who's a quality rugby player, who played very well for the Chiefs and played well for the All Blacks in the main since he started last year.
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"It was just that experience of running the team.
"We're very confident in Steve doing that well," added Henry. "He's a quality person, he's a bright guy, and he's got that ability to know the game and call the right shots."
The fact McAlister had played so little rugby of late also worked heavily against the former Sale utility. A back strain had further limited his activity since his lone test start of the year, that unconvincing display against Italy.
Henry admitted Donald's recovery from his hamstring strain had surprised him after he'd rated his chances of playing this match as negligible when he first named the Tri-Nations squad.
"I think Stephen in the back of his mind always thought he was going to be right because he kept saying 'Ted, I'm going to be right'," said Henry. "But all the guys who are injured say that. More often than not they're not, though they like think they will be.
"So I thought 'well, he won't be right'. He caught us a bit by surprise quite frankly."
Henry said the situation the coaches found themselves in yesterday was a million miles from where they were at last week's camp in Wellington.
"On Friday last week we were thinking no McAlister, no Donald, and you probably can't pick yourself. We were starting to think 'where do we go?' Do we play Stephen Brett? Do we play Piri [Weepu] there? So it all came together well for us really."
McAlister has been named on a bench split 4-3 in the traditional manner and will likely see time later in the test.
The other notable selection of an otherwise predictable lineup was that of Wellington and Hurricanes fullback Jane on the right wing ahead of incumbent Rokocoko.
The preference for Jane ahead of the 55-test Rokocoko had come down, not only to form, but of the all-round package of skills Jane brings to a back three that will have to be on its toes to counter a challenging night from the Wallabies' dual kicking threats.
"It came down to form," said Henry of the call at No 14. "Joe's struggling with his game, though I think the light's getting brighter at the end of the tunnel. Just taking the pressure off him and him coming on [from the bench] might be good for him.
"And Cory's got a fullback's all-round skills, he's a high ball catcher, a kicker, and he's a good finisher as well. He's got good feet."
Jane clearly fits the bill right now better than Rokocoko.
There are also a couple of "new" faces on the bench, with young Cantab Owen Franks given the backup prop responsibilities and Jason Eaton coming in as second-row cover as well as blindside flank. Kieran Read will deputise at Nos 6 and 8, with Rodney So'oialo designated Richie McCaw's stand-in should that be required.
McCaw, who returns to the starting XV together with So'oialo and Sitiveni Sivivatu, will captain the All Blacks in his 71st test and 200th first-class game.
There are 10 changes all told to the team that took the field against Italy, though nothing should be read into that given the number returning from injury and the fact that it was regarded as very much a second-tier test by the All Blacks.
McCaw will resume his rivalry with veteran Wallabies No 7 George Smith, who will be playing his 100th test match.
And loosehead prop Tony Woodcock will be hopeful of continuing his try-scoring feats against the trans-Tasman rivals - he has touched down five times against Australia in the last two years.
The Wallabies haven't won at Eden Park since 1986 and are on a 10-game losing streak there. The All Blacks also haven't lost at the Auckland venue to anyone since France won there in 1994.
The Wallabies are searching for their first win in New Zealand since 2001, with the All Blacks victorious in the eight Bledisloe tests on Kiwi soil since then.
All told the All Blacks and Wallabies have played each other 156 times since 1903, with 106 wins to the All Blacks, 45 to Australia and five draws.
NEW ZEALAND: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan; 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Joe Rokocoko.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The return of bruising No 8 Wycliff Palu is the only change to the Wallabies starting XV for Saturday night's Tri-Nations and Bledisloe opener in Auckland against the All Blacks.
Palu comes in for Richard Brown at the back of the scrum, with the Western Force loose forward moving to the blindside flank in the only alteration to the XV that started the 22-6 win over France in Sydney last month.
Palu has successfully negotiated two club matches for Manly in recent weeks, coming back from a hand injury.
The 26-year-old who will be playing his 29th test broke two separate bones in his hand while playing for the NSW Waratahs during the Super 14. He was brought back into the Tri-Nations squad after missing the Wallabies' opening four matches of the year.
Palu essentially takes the place of utility forward Dean Mumm, with Brown switching from the back of the scrum to the blindside flank position, where he will start a test for the first time.
Mumm is included on a bench that features a five-two split, with Queensland Reds halfback Will Genia and 19-year-old James O'Connor the only backline replacements listed.
The forward-orientated make-up on the bench allows for the inclusion of two openside flankers, David Pocock and Phil Waugh.
The 21-year-old Genia, who is a newcomer to the Wallabies squad, will become the 835th player to have appeared for Australia in test matches should he take the field at Eden Park.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said the selection represented the strongest combination.
"We have made good progress, and the relative consistency of our selection reflects that, but no one is getting ahead of themselves. Playing New Zealand at Eden Park is going to be a major step up on what we have faced so far," Deans said.
"You only have to look at the history in terms of the All Blacks' outstanding record at Eden Park and their current circumstance, to appreciate the size of the task that is in front of us."
Deans noted that the All Blacks' current circumstance, both in terms of the level of expectations around the game and the personnel who are returning to the team, made for an almost identical pre-game scenario to last year's corresponding match at the same venue, where New Zealand bolted to a 21-10 halftime advantage and forged on to win 39-10.
"We were simply not good enough and got found out in a big way during this match last year. Saturday night, returning to the same venue, offers us an opportunity to see how much progress we have made as a group in the time since," Deans said.
Significantly, 12 of the players who have been named in the starting lineup today also started for Australia on its most recent visit to Eden Park.
The Wallabies cross the Tasman having dispatched the Barbarians (55-7), Italy (31-8 and 34-12) and France (22-6) so far this year.
Australia has not conceded a try in its last 197 minutes of play since Italian winger Kaine Robertson cracked the Wallabies defence in the 43rd minute of his team's 8-31 loss in Canberra.
Flanker George Smith's selection sees him named to play his 100th test match on the same day that he celebrates his 29th birthday.
"It's an outstanding achievement," Deans said. "Hopefully we can do the occasion justice as a team."
The Wallabies depart for Auckland tomorrow. They do so well aware that Australia last won at Eden Park in 1986.
New Zealand has won the last 10 trans-Tasman tests in Auckland, and has not been defeated at Eden Park by any country since France prevailed 23-20 in 1994, 20-matches ago.
The Auckland visit also heralds the start of the annual Bledisloe Cup rivalry, with the Wallabies required to win three of the four tests to relieve the New Zealanders of the trophy, which Australia hasn't held since it was surrendered to an All Black team co-coached by Deans in 2003.
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess; 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Richard Brown/, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm 19 Phil Waugh, 20 David Pocock, 21 Will Genia, 22 James O'Connor.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/2593273/Palu-bolsters-Wallabies-back-row
