The Canterbury Crusaders are looking to former All Black flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens to stop the rot as the four-time Super 12 champions chase their first win of the season against the Queensland Reds.
Mehrtens, still smarting from being axed by the All Blacks for last year’s World Cup, has found the early stages of the 2004 season just as difficult, shunted down the Crusaders’ pecking order as number 10.
But New Zealand rugby’s record point-scorer has looked sharp during two appearances as a replacement in the Crusaders’ opening matches of the southern hemisphere championship, which have both ended in defeat.
Now coach Robbie Deans believes it is time Mehrtens is given a chance in the starting XV as the Crusaders prepare for Saturday’s Brisbane meeting with the Reds, who beat Waikato 39-25 at home last week.
Mehrtens comes in for Nathan Mauger, who is relegated to the bench, and Deans said the former All Black had fully deserved his recall on recent form.
”It’s more about Andrew and he’s made a difference when he’s come on to the field,” Deans said.
”It’s fair to say he found a place. His pre-season form wasn’t great but he’s been chipping away at it and his sharpness is coming back.”
Although Mehrtens had few opportunities to shine during the Crusaders’ opening defeat to the top-of-table New South Wales Waratahs, he tackled well during last week’s loss to the Auckland Blues.
Deans is also hoping Mehrtens’s experience at marshalling his back-line in both attack and defence will come to the fore against the Reds.
”We’re looking for his communication and direction and obviously he will be accountable in the defensive line too,” Deans said.
”Defence is certainly something we talk about a lot with him and it’s a matter of getting yourself in the right position in games and being dedicated enough to go through with it. He’s a lot sharper in that area.”
Deans said 30-year-old Mehrtens’s age was not a factor, and insisted that his decision to recall the veteran had not been influenced by a media debate surrounding the player’s continued exclusion.
”I’m aware it’s going on when people start talking about it, but it’s not something I consider,” Deans said.
”It doesn’t bring pressure to bear. The responsibility is to the team and to work with individuals to get the best results for the team.”
Mehrtens’s return to the number 10 jersey is the first tentative step to the 66-Test veteran staking a claim for the All Blacks later in the year.
Deans, who as a member of New Zealand’s World Cup coaching team was partly responsible for overlooking Mehrtens last year, said he believed the flyhalf could yet resurrect his international career.
”Last year he obviously had a bad run when he had a spate of injuries and that compromised his physical fitness. But he’s made a big shift in that area and the speed’s starting to come back, so who knows?
”With modern training methods there’s no reason why he can’t be at his best and have his best still ahead of him,” Deans said.
Reds coach Jeff Miller, who has named an unchanged team, thought Mehrtens had earned a recall.
”I’m not surprised they have brought him in,” he said. ”He will give them a little more direction and I thought he defended very well against the Blues.”
While the Crusaders seek to get their campaign back on the road, the Waratahs will be aiming to maintain their 100% record against the Cats in Sydney on Friday.
Former captain Matt Burke has gained a spot on the Waratahs bench while winger Milton Thaiday and prop Matt Dunning have been ruled out.
Thaiday was still recovering from a stomach illness while Dunning has a rotator cuff strain in his shoulder. Their places in the starting side were taken by Cameron Shepherd and Gareth Hardy.
Reigning champions Auckland, meanwhile, take on the Chiefs missing star Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca. The World Cup star, who scored a hat-trick against the Crusaders last week, is out with a shoulder injury. — Sapa-AFP
Fixtures
Friday:
At Auckland
Blues v Chiefs
At Sydney
Waratahs v Cats
At Pretoria
Bulls v Highlanders
Saturday:
At Canberra
Brumbies v Sharks
At Brisbane
Reds v Crusaders
At Cape Town
Stormers v Hurricanes