All Blacks: Fullback or fall back?

Israel Dagg's speed and agility make him an attractive prospect for the All Blacks' wing. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Israel Dagg can't be sure but he thinks it could happen - he could become yet another fullback asked to commit his test future to the wing.

The squad already has one - Cory Jane, the man who sees himself as a fullback despite the fact he must rank as one of the best wings in world rugby.

On one level, Dagg is just grateful for the opportunity to start. That's ultimately all he wants. Yet, on another, he would rather be wearing 15 than 11. He'd rather be in his preferred berth because it's the one that comes naturally.

It's a curious business that fullbacks converted to the wing never seem to accept their fate. It's as if they only ever see their selection on the wing as a temporary situation - one that will change when they play well.

"At fullback you can be all over the field and pop up wherever you want," says Dagg. "At wing, you have to keep the width and hang out there a bit more. But at fullback, you have a lot of freedom to do what you want.

"Cory Jane has already told me not to play wing too much otherwise you might get stuck there like he has."

It's also a curious situation because the better Jane and Dagg play on the wing, the more likely they are to be selected there. While they might covet fullback, the selectors hold a different view.

Despite the game being less kick and chase than it was, the fullback-wing role is just as blurred as it was last year.

The skill-sets for the two jobs have become almost identical. Last year the All Black selectors changed the type of wing they were looking for.

Previously, they had been keen on rocket men, out-and-out finishers who could run, beat players and score tries.

That is still a big part of the role but the foundation skills are now accuracy under the high ball, the ability to work in a back three and, ideally, have a strong kicking game.

As far as head coach Graham Henry is concerned, there is such an overlap between the two positions now that they are almost interchangeable.

Fullbacks like Dagg and Jane who have the raw pace and running skills can make the conversion successfully.

"The skill-sets have changed," Henry says . "A lot of the same skills are required for both positions."

Dagg says the biggest difference is the positional play on defence. "You have got to stick tight with your centre and keep talking to him.

"You can't rush out of defence and you have to work as a front four. You have got to keep working backwards and forwards and put some doubt in the mind of the opposition first five."

It's a sign of how similar the roles are and how much confidence the selectors have in Dagg that they were prepared to play him on the wing last night. Before this season, Dagg played on the wing only once or twice at school.

It has meant that at times in his test career, when he has come off the bench to play on the wing, he has had to stop drifting into the right space for fullback. His instincts have taken him into the places he knows when he wears 15.

"Sometimes I felt that in the South African game," he says. "It's getting there.

"I have been working on it for the whole of the Tri Nations and when I go back to Hawke's Bay I switch around a bit with Zac Guildford who goes to wing and I go to fullback."

He doesn't intend to switch around with Guildford when the two are together at the Crusaders. And even though he's being selected as a wing for the All Blacks at the moment, he doesn't want to play there in the Super 15.

Because the skill-sets are so much alike, he can play at fullback at Super 15 and be trusted to switch over to wing in the test arena if that is what the All Black selectors think he should do.

"There are some good players down in Christchurch," Dagg says. "It is going to be a good battle to play fullback. I will have to train hard and play well.

"It is going to be a good test for me. If I'm not good enough, I'm not good enough and I won't play. But if I am, then I'll play at fullback. That is my preferred position."

The fullbackline: Gregor Paul's picks

There were three fullbacks in the All Blacks last night. Gregor Paul picks a hypothetical All Black backline made entirely of players who are either natural fullbacks are best recognised for their work there.

15: Mils Muliaina

The daddy of them all. Youngsters come and go, threatening to change the world, but Muliaina is still the benchmark. Still rock solid under the high ball, he hardly makes any mistakes and his accuracy is to be treasured.

14: Cory Jane

He is the reluctant wing - forever suggesting he'd jump at the chance to switch to fullback. But the selectors are convinced he's a better wing and the more he plays there, the more they appear right.

13: Isaia Toeava

He has played from 10-15 at Super rugby. A classic utility back, he showed this year before his injury that his best position is fullback. He was arguably the best fullback in the competition, yet he can slot in easily at centre where the All Black coaches still believe his future lies.

12: Ben Smith

Last year, he was a fullback who could cover wing. Now he is supposedly a second five-eighths. Whatever his best position, he's a natural talent but many think he's better suited to fullback.

11: Israel Dagg

He prefers playing fullback and had played nearly all his career there until this year. Like Jane, he doesn't see himself as a wing and desperately covets the No15 jersey.

10: Colin Slade

Last year, he was beginning to look like more of a natural 15 than first five. Slade has become recognised as a high-quality fullback, despite the fact he wants to commit his future to playing No10.

9: Isaac Boss

OK, this selection doesn't really work given Boss is in Ireland but he played a few games for Waikato at fullback before he left and actually looked a decent prospect.