All Black coach Graham Henry is wary of a resurgent Australia ahead of their opening Test in the Tri-Nations series and rates his side as underdogs after unconvincing wins over Ireland and Argentina.
”I think we’re a bit behind Australia at the moment,” Henry said on Tuesday after naming a 30-man Tri-Nations squad, which included the recall of former captain Reuben Thorne after a three-year absence.
New Zealand beat Ireland 34-23 and 27-17 in two home Tests and edged out Argentina 27-17 in a one-off Test in Buenos Aires last weekend.
The All Blacks used two completely different starting sides against Ireland and Argentina, drawing from a huge 39-man squad.
In contrast, Australia easily saw off England in two tests and beat Ireland 37-15 last weekend, with Irish captain Brian O’Driscoll rating Australia the better of the two southern hemisphere sides.
Henry admitted the All Blacks had some catching up to do before starting its defence of the Tri-Nations title against Australia in Christchurch on July 8. ”It’s a big week for us next week. It’s going to be a huge Test match at Jade Stadium,” he said.
New Australian coach John Connolly has been credited with restoring the fortunes of the Wallabies following a poor season in 2005, particularly with his revamped forward pack.
”He’s picked a bigger pack and bigger loose forwards, so they have a big line-out,” Henry said, adding the Wallaby scrum was also much improved.
The main talking point of the new All Black squad was the recall of flanker Thorne, who returned to top form with his Canterbury Crusaders Super 14 side this year.
”Reuben is a proven performer. We have looked at other candidates in the last three Tests, none of whom have played to Reuben’s form in the Super 14,” Henry said.
”Hopefully, there is a glimpse of the future in those selections but, for now, Reuben’s form is the benchmark.”
Loose forward Jerome Kaino and flanker Craig Newby have been dropped from the squad, along with utility forward Troy Flavell, who is expected to have an operation for a shoulder muscle injury.
In the backs, outside centre Casey Laulala and inside centre Sam Tuitupou have both been dropped.
Backline coach Wayne Smith described Laulala and Tuitupou as being the ”hard-luck stories” after performing well for the All Blacks.
Players not considered for selection because of injury were backs Nick Evans, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Conrad Smith, and forwards Sione Lauaki, Angus Macdonald, James Ryan and Derren Witcombe. — AFP
