Chris Rattue: Selection shocks get hard to find

Dan Carter, the model All Black. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Every All Black selection has one major shock in it, but a lot of us are still trying to get over the surprise of seeing Dan Carter's name in a line-up.

Remember him?

He's stocky, with prominent Y-fronts, a range of L to XL shirts that may not have come off the rack, jeans that cost a lot, along with nice teeth and close-cropped, lightly gelled hair.

What a comeback.

His was among the braver All Black selections yesterday (although it would have quickly slid down the queue if they'd given Sione Lauaki another trip) because, as everyone knows, it is imperative that Carter is saved for bigger things down the track.

And a dead-rubber game against the Aussies in Hong Kong followed by a Grand Slam attempt are hardly really big news these days, although they do represent important opportunities to parade Danger-Free Dan in parts of the world that traditionally (although perhaps not at this very moment) have a lot of money to flash around.

Yet the selectors must have been oh so tempted to keep Carter away from the perils of this tour.

For a start, Hong Kong has an incredibly busy airport littered with dangers. We've all heard the horrifying stories - shoulder-to-shoulder contact down the concourse, the wheels on designer luggage becoming entangled and important airport announcements being made in a foreign language.

This is no place to risk a prized footballer, although playing club rugby in France - where Carter is headed - is hardly a health trip either.

Perhaps Carter's brilliant form in dealing with the dangers of opening another of his fashion stores in Newmarket convinced the selectors that he was ready for Hong Kong, although observers say that Newmarket is no longer the test of character it once was.

As for other selection surprises, they are tough to find these days. About the only potential shock selection who isn't in some sort of heavily publicised, wider training group is Dan Carter (too dangerous).

But let's have a crack, for old times' sake.

Ben Franks: In the finest traditions of shock selections, except these days, the tour parties are so big that the selectors don't actually need to play a shock selection. Potential reserve choice against Scotland, at best. Franks is the new John Schwalger, who was the new Clarke Dermody, who was the new Campbell Johnstone, who was the new Saimone Taumoepeau. Franks is the fourth Tasman test forward of recent times (following Chris Jack, Ali Williams and Brad Thorn) but unlike the other three, his career will involve more games for the Makos than the All Blacks. A lot more.