All Blacks: Nonu sees plenty when he looks over his shoulder

Ma'a Nonu. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Ma'a Nonu could be forgiven for feeling under siege.

Towards the end of the Super 14 he would have been looking ahead to an All Black campaign where he was firmly entrenched as the first-choice No 12, but that has changed.

A knee injury in May saw him miss the June internationals and he had to idly watch as his replacement Benson Stanley made a solid entry to test rugby, forging a good combination with Nonu's Hurricanes' teammate Conrad Smith. If that wasn't enough, the "ripped" spectre of league convert Sonny Bill Williams looms large.

The huge talent will begin his campaign for All Blacks selection with Canterbury in the ITM Cup this month and many believe second five-eighths is his natural position.

Nonu, whose knee was iced up at a press call yesterday, acknowledged the path to selection is no longer straightforward.

"Obviously [Benson's] played well in the last few weeks. I've got to start from scratch really, train well and get back up there."

Asked whether he felt threatened by the impending arrival of Williams, Nonu was frank: "I think anyone would be, especially coming up against a guy like that. You see on Wednesday, in his fight, he's pretty ripped and he's a great athlete. I think he'll be exciting when he comes over and plays some footy."

The blockbusting back said, with two home tests against the Springboks to start the campaign, it was vital to start with a win to "put the belief back in that we can play good rugby in the Tri Nations".

Nonu said the ice pack on his injured knee was not an indication that he was still struggling with the injury. He said he came through 70 minutes of a club match in Wellington last week without a problem and coach Graham Henry confirmed he was available for selection, with Smith, Israel Dagg and Anthony Boric who missed the the second test against Wales.

The only slight injury concern is blindside flanker Victor Vito who did not train yesterday.

Henry said: "He has a slightly tight calf muscle and [we're] looking after him for the first two days."