Break has Israel near the promised land
5:00 AM Sunday Jul 19, 2015
The
congestion building in the All Black back three didn't ease any on
Friday night but did yesterday morning when it was confirmed Waisake
Naholo had broken his leg.
What was looming as the hardest
selection decision of all arguably became a little easier as a result of
Naholo being ruled out for three months.
So instead of flying to
South Africa with the rest of the squad, Naholo was heading home to
rehabilitate and reflect on what might have been.
His first 30
minutes were hugely encouraging — there was enough there to believe he
was comfortable enough at test level to merit another crack and that he
would be tough to leave out of the final 31.
"Very exciting," was
coach Steve Hansen's summation. "By his own admission, he'd probably be
disappointed by some of his errors. He's a young guy and coming into
our environment is pretty daunting. But to train the way he did, prepare
well and up until he hurt his ankle, he was great.
He can do things other people can't and that's quite exciting."
As
unfortunate as it is for Naholo, his injury has cleared the picture,
that was, in the immediate wake of the Pumas test, looking more
convoluted.
Not only did Naholo play well, Israel Dagg was also
impressive. Charles Piutau made ground with a high work rate and a
well-taken try, while just one curious, ill-considered cross kick was
the only blight on his night.
Even with Naholo out, it will still
be fascinating to see how the selectors end up picking between Dagg,
Piutau, Julian Savea, Corey Jane, Ben Smith and Nehe Milner-Skudder.
There is, best guess, room for four when the squad is cut from 41 to 31
at the end of August.
Smith and Savea, as long as they avoid
injury, are banked. Those two are a cut above: they offer too much to
come properly into the debate about who goes and who stays.
Waisake Naholo. Photo / Getty Images
Dagg, arguably, now has the indicator on and is poised to
shift into the outside lane and motor into the final 31. The selectors
have been adamant since they picked Dagg that all he's lacking is game
time.
They have held their line that once match-conditioned after
barely playing in the past three months, Dagg will prove himself. It's
now hard to argue against that thinking.
Dagg wasn't 80 minutes
of magic but was better than his Apia outing. The bit that really
mattered was his pace and willingness to back himself.
At his
best, Dagg pulls defenders into places they don't want to go and creates
space for those around him. He's a coaster rather than a blaster and is
at his most dangerous when he accelerates from half to full pace.
It
looked like he's getting close to recovering that top-end speed and one
more outing, on the hard ground of Ellis Park, may be enough for him to
satisfy everyone he's playing as well as he needs to be.
"He
looked fast, I thought," said All Blacks backs coach Ian Foster. "He's
like a lot of outside backs that once they get their legs back, they
start to back their acceleration and speed, and that brings confidence
to them.
"When you haven't played a lot of rugby, that's one
thing that takes time to come back. He could still kick better and there
are still parts of his game that he'll get better at. But I think it
was his speed and confidence to take people on that stood out."
There
was also the mental fortitude he showed to channel the anxiety he was
inevitably feeling as a result of his lack of form and the widespread
criticism that followed his performance in Apia.
Hansen revealed
during the week that some players were struggling to deal with the
pressure of the impending selection cull. His message was to refocus and
remember that they couldn't control selection, only performance, and if
they delivered on that front, the rest would take care of itself.
It
was a message Dagg obviously took on board. "I try not to read into
what you fellas write about me," he said in reaction to whether he was
one of the players who was stressing.
"I try to stay calm and
clear and I know I have just got to trust my abilities and trust what I
can do. I have got to try to stay positive and for me, it was just about
having that belief I can do it and that I can play rugby. I've been
doing it for years."
If Dagg provides more evidence in
Johannesburg that he's ready, then it may come down to a straight choice
between Piutau and Jane. And that one could go to the wire.
Piutau
was solid and industrious. He took his try well and covered a huge
amount of ground. He's in the running but will feel better about his
prospects if he can, between now and August 30, deliver one more,
impossible-to-ignore performance.
Because he knows Jane is a
World Cup veteran with proven experience and a magical skill-set. And
just like Dagg, all Jane is lacking is game time.
- Herald on Sunday
Read more by Gregor Paul
