All Black changes give conspiracy theorists a field day

Richie McCaw charges a kick from Geordan Murphy. Picture / Herald On Sunday

It was hardly an endorsement when Graham Henry said the jury was still out on using the All Blacks tandem tearaway axis of Richie McCaw and Marty Holah.

The national coach might have been more convincing with a verdict that the dual openside flanker scheme did not work in good conditions on Saturday's first test in Hamilton.

When the All Black selectors followed up by removing Holah from the playing XV and reserves for tomorrow's second test against Ireland at Eden Park, it offered a gap for every conspiracist in New Zealand.

Some of the theories in no particular order were:

* Holah and Hamilton had been a neat fit.

* All Black selection would keep Holah interested enough to hang around for next season unlike his provincial and Maori skipper Jono Gibbes.

* The All Blacks were never going to lose to Ireland so use Holah and keep Jerry Collins and Chris Masoe fit for Argentina.

* It was a result of the new Players Collective Agreement.

* It was a chance to show Holah was restricted to a seven role and was no better than third in that pecking order.

* His family had Irish ancestry and therefore - the list went on and on and on.

During some of the midweek discussions which followed, there was a concession from All Black forwards coach Steve Hansen that there were "still a few question marks" about playing two opensiders.

But he refuted suggestions that Jerome Kaino's inclusion at the expense of Holah was a kneejerk reaction to the problems at Hamilton.

"It's not an admission that it didn't work. It's just we are looking to develop Jerome," said Hansen. "We needed to find the answer out about the two flyers and you don't find the answer out unless you put them on the park."

What was the answer if the jury was still out? What were they trying to discover by replicating the Wallaby system used with George Smith and Phil Waugh, which new coach John Connolly had canned?

If the twin breakaways had been a success wouldn't it have made sense to consolidate that progress at Eden Park? Even if it had been deemed a failure, wouldn't it have been worth another chance because of the lack of help from the tight five?

Hansen had been encouraged by the way Holah had played in his 34th test at Hamilton.

"We were happy enough with what we saw. To be fair, though, I don't think we played well enough in the tight five to give any of the loose forwards the opportunity to launch off," Hansen added.

McCaw's explanation was similar.

The All Blacks had not spent a great deal of time together in preparation for the first test of the season and they were trying a new loose forward combination.

A widespread perception that the mix of Holah and himself had not gelled was probably the result of an inadequate showing from the entire All Black side.

"There was no physical domination, we did not go well as a team and if we had got into the game much earlier then I am sure the roles Marty and I had would have worked just fine," said McCaw.

"Had any other loose forward trio been together they would have found it diffilcut as well because right through the game we did not perform our jobs, as a team, and Ireland were good at diusrupting our ball. Another day we could go out and operate just fine."

But Holah does not get that chance this week and much as the All Black selectors say they have not discarded the scheme, you suspect they would only reactivate it to rest the frontliners against inferior opposition. The in-bound tour from Italy next year would be perfect.

Until then a Tri-Nations series and an end of year tour to Europe which is supposed to replicate the planning for the 2007 World Cup, are not the places for such experiments.

Were Holah to play as a pure opensider and McCaw be used as a ball-carrying, lineout target blindsider, the strategy would have gained more public traction.

Putting Holah in a No 6 jersey and dividing reponsibilities with McCaw seemed over-elaborate from the outside.

McCaw understood the public consternation. "They do not quite know what we are up to so I can comprehend their confusion. "However I will say that if Jerome had been in the six jersey the results would have been the same because of the way the team went."

McCaw also confessed there were a few times at Hamilton when he had to curb his usual instincts, something which also happened when he swapped, occassionally, to a blindside role in the Super 14. "I had a couple of oops and I experienced that with the Crusaders too and I have to make sure I just don't take off.

"When you get under pressure is when you go by instinct to where you are not needed and that is what happened to us as a team because we were under pressure. You can see things happening and you think 'gee I'm needed there', but when you arrive you know it is not going to help.

"That is where I think things broke down a bit."

He and Holah had not split the field in half. They had specific roles from set-piece play. There may have been lineout issues and other mixed reviews because neither he nor Holah were massive ball-carriers or hitters. The Wallabies got away with their Waugh and Smith system because they used Nathan Sharpe, Daniel Vickerman or David Lyons to cart the ball upfield.

The week leading up to the Hamilton test had been frenetic. The All Blacks had settled down after another week in camp, they were much more relaxed after further refining their play and McCaw was counting on a much improved effort tomorrow.