KEY POINTS:
Something about Ireland triggers unusual loose-forward responses from the All Blacks selectors.
After the fuss about changes in the squad had abated and the country awaited a predictable line-up for the first foray in Wellington on Saturday, the panel pulled another surprise.
Regular No 8 Rodney So'oialo and
blindside flanker Jerome Kaino have swapped roles in a team which has one new cap, Anthony Tuitavake on the right wing and three others on the bench.
Tuitavake split his Blues season with seven games on the wing and the last four at centre where he was effective but probably too much of an individual to warrant a test start. That debut comes on the wing which allows him to roam and come in off the flank.
Two years ago when Ireland last visited, the same panel shifted regular openside flanker Marty Holah to the blindside in an experiment which was never fully explained and was shelved in the second half.
Holah never started another test while his replacement, Kaino was picked for the next Eden Park test on the blindside but also substituted and had been on the outer ever since. Until yesterday. Injuries have hampered Kaino but he produced enough Super 14 form to win an All Black recall.
The tidy money had him in the loose-forward formation to start coach Graham Henry's fifth season in charge but not displacing So'oialo at No 8, although it is a position Kaino covets.
"We are just looking at the different combinations as part of this series to try and establish who is best to go where and this is a test we are looking to do that in," forwards coach Steve Hansen said. "Both of them can play eight, both of them can play six so from time to time we might see that change during the course of the game."
When long-term blindsider Jerry Collins called it quits recently on the All Blacks, Kaino and Adam Thomson firmed as his successor when they were called into the wider training group while Kieran Read was tipped to join them once his excellent Crusaders series was done.
Read missed the cut because the panel thought he would benefit from a rest while Thomson and Kaino were chosen and also missed the blindside call up.
Ireland meanwhile, have stayed with their expected side, using the bulk of the Munster pack which won the Heineken Cup while captain Brian O'Driscoll reported fit following the sudden death of a close friend.
"It was a brutal week for me and in a lot of my friends' lives," he said. "And for a time rugby was secondary."
Caretaker coach Michael Bradley said most players in his team, after the disappointing World Cup and Six Nations tournaments, were back in winning fettle in the Heineken Cup, Magners Trophy and English premiership.
"So the expectation with New Zealand first off, is if we can do our business correctly and accurately, then organise our defence properly, there is no reason why we can't win the match," he said.
The All Blacks have backed Super 14 combinations and gone to the core of the Crusaders as their selection recipe for their first outing since the World Cup quarter-final exit against France last October.
Only six players return from that defeat, while prop Tony Woodcock, halfback Brendon Leonard and midfielder Richard Kahui are injured and it was thought Greg Somerville and Sione Lauaki would benefit from a game off.
Coach Henry said a huge amount of work had been covered in training but Saturday's strategies would be about simple, concise and clear rugby.
Using combinations such as Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith in midfield, Neemia Tialata and Andrew Hore in the frontrow, the Crusaders locks and halves would help in the short test preparation.
There would have to be some revision because this Irish test and the two against England were being played under the old laws, before the Tri-Nations returned to most of the ELVs trialed in the Super 14.
"Clear heads and a full tank" Henry said were the aims in practice and team selection in what he thought might be the most demanding week of his term.
Irish soccer great Roy Keane joined the All Blacks again yesterday as part of the qualification course he is completing in his role as Sunderland coach. He had lunch with All Black skipper Richie McCaw.