Hawke's Bay Magpies head coach Craig Philpott is naturally a man of mixed emotions after the naming of the World Cup squad ... excited for Ben Franks and sad for Israel Dagg.
"Ben spoke to us all in the changing shed after Friday night's game. He didn't know if he
was in or out at that stage but he said he would be available for us for the rest of the season if he missed out and while he would be a little bit grumpy for a few days he would get over it," Philpott recalled.
He thought Dagg's experience and "mighty right boot" might have seen him make the cut.
"The All Black selectors have obviously got confidence in Ben Smith playing a lot of rugby, but I'm sure if anything happened to him or Nehe [Milner-Skudder] injury-wise Izzy will be the first to get the call.
"Like Cory [former Magpie Jane] it was tough for Izzy as they both have a lot of All Black history. I don't envy the selectors in what they went through in trying to nail this group down," Philpott said.
