Rugby: Robertson tipped for big game

By WYNNE GRAY

SYDNEY - Aggressive All Black flanker Scott Robertson is being primed for the biggest game of his short international career.

When the All Blacks went through some serious drills late into their team session yesterday, it was Robertson rather than the 50-test veteran Josh Kronfeld who filled the openside flanker position with the test pack.

If that decision stands when the side is announced today, Robertson's inclusion is a clear sign the All Blacks want to increase the tempo and width of their game in a way the Springboks showed with some limited possession last weekend.

Sorting out the loose forwards and tighthead prop were the greatest selection issues for coach Wayne Smith in his first time in charge for a Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations international. The backline choice was straightforward but there were many forward possibilities.

It appears the coach has settled on Robertson with Taine Randell on the blindside while Kees Meeuws has done enough to persuade the panel he should start ahead of tyro tighhead prop Greg Somerville.

Lock Norm Maxwell completed enough of the practice to show he will be chosen unless he suffers an overnight recurrence of his hip problem. The only absentee at the run at Manly Oval was fullback Christian Cullen, who has the flu but is in no doubt for the test.

In his short career, the 25-year-old Robertson has only started a test against Scotland with his six other appearances as a substitute or replacement.

A nephew of former Wallaby captain Greg Davis, who was also a loose forward, Robertson made his test debut as a substitute for Mark Carter in 1998 against the Wallabies in a Tri-Nations test at Christchurch.

The All Blacks, rather than the world champion Wallabies, are the face of rugby in Sydney for the opening Tri-Nations test.

While Stadium Australia will be full - about 108,000 spectators - for Saturday's international which doubles as a Bledisloe Cup test, it is the All Blacks who are getting the coverage in the Sydney media.

They have been labelled as the `Wounded Bulls' after their World Cup crash while there has been the inevitable clamour for interviews with the superstars like Jonah Lomu and Tana Umaga and a rising luminary like Ron Cribb. Information is sought continuously about new faces like Somerville, Robertson, Leon Macdonald and Doug Howlett.

The moderate tone of Smith and captain Todd Blackadder has also intrigued the Australian media which, in the last decade, had become used to some useful jousts with either Laurie Mains or John Hart.

For the second straight test week in Australia, the Wallabies are out of sight and out of the limelight. While both Tri-Nations' protaganists have gone through the annual ritual of claiming the under-dog status, the rest of the rugby statements are about the men in black.

They are in Sydney, they have been since early Monday, while the Wallabies jetted back to their Caloundra base on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday. They will not hit Sydney until late tomorrow when they will announce their side.

It is a repeat of their low-level pre-match involvement in Melbourne for the historic indoor test against the Springboks. Critics suggested their brief guest appearances at a few lunches and stores did little for the promotion of the game in the non-rugby city.

That, the unknown Springboks faces and the steep ticket prices - A$53 to $130 - were blamed for the embarassing 34,042 crowd watching the World Cup winners.

Stadium Australia will have the full house sign up but, even so, many Sydneysiders are wondering what their side does in between test matches.