McCaw in Sydney selection shakeup
Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:02
Signing of the times: All Black captain Richie McCaw
Richie McCaw, along with Dan Carter a talisman for New Zealand, defy medical predictions and play for the All Blacks against the Wallabies in the Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup double header in Sydney on Saturday.
The All Blacks captain, McCaw, ran freely at training on Monday - a month to the day since injuring his ankle in the second Test against England.
There was no official word from team management on his availability, but the 62-Test veteran played an active role in most of Monday's practice and showed no discomfort.
McCaw's ball-winning skills were missed by the All Blacks in their two Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa - a 19-8 win in Wellington and a 28-30 loss in Dunedin - and will be urgently required against Australia, whose 16-9 win over the Springboks at the weekend was built around pressure at the breakdown.
When the 27-year-old McCaw injured his ankle in the second Test against England last month the initial diagnosis had him sidelined until the Test against South Africa in Cape Town on August 16.
Even after the All Blacks lost to the Springboks in Dunedin nine days ago, assistant coach Steve Hansen described the star flank's recovery as steady and there was little chance of an early return.
Daniel Braid, recalled to the All Blacks squad as cover for McCaw after five years in the wilderness, would not speculate on the team's line up, which will be named Tuesday.
"We'll just have to wait and see," he said.
Having played no rugby for a month, management will need to balance McCaw's need for some tough work this week with a cautious attitude.
There is still a chance coach Graham Henry will take the safe route and opt for Braid when the team is named Tuesday and pencil in McCaw for the second match against the Wallabies in Auckland next week.
If he misses out, it would be another case of awful timing for the 27-year-old, who would have almost certainly been called up to replace McCaw for the two Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa earlier this month had he not suffered a calf injury early in the New Zealand Maori team's campaign.
"That was terrible timing for me. I was really keen to play in that Maori campaign and get some game time in just in case something like this happened," Braid told NZPA.
"I had been in the pre-season camp with the All Blacks so I thought if [McCaw] went down I was some sort of shot of getting there."
Whether McCaw or Braid plays, Rodney So'oialo and No.8 Jerome Kaino look set to retain the other loose forward berths, while other changes appear likely to the team who lost to the Springboks in Dunedin.
Brad Thorn should return from suspension in place of lock Anthony Boric, while veteran prop Greg Somerville may well be recalled for John Afoa.
