NEW Zealand have axed scrum-half Justin Marshall for their World Cup semi-final against France at Twickenham on Sunday and delayed a decision on the fitness of fly-half Andrew Mehrtens.
Inexperienced Byron Kelleher was Thursday named to replace Marshall at scrum-half with Marshall dropping down to the bench.
Kelleher, 22, will make only his second test start in the only definite change to the side which beat Scotland 30-18 in the quarter-finals.
New Zealand coach John Hart lived up to his promise of making a last-minute decision on whether to risk Mehrtens, who was bracketed with Tony Brown.
Goal-kicking ace Mehrtens underwent a scan on Tuesday to establish the seriousness of an injury to his left knee and the All Blacks were relieved that the scan showed no structural damage.
Mehrtens’ knee is still bruised, however, and with him racing against time to be fit, Brown is poised to take over in a new-look halfback combination. If Brown plays, Bruce Reihana will take his spot on the bench.
“I think that Mehrtens will be able to play, but I don’t have any worries about the situation,” said Hart, who added that Brown, who has played eight previous tests, is an able replacement.
Hart said Marshall would be a strong contender if New Zealand reached the World Cup final, and that Kelleher had been chosen to face France because it was felt his skills were better suited to halting the French.
New Zealand go in with all their try-scoring big guns, with wing Jonah Lomu looking to extend his current World Cup record of 13. Lomu has already scored six tries in the tournament.