All Blacks: Kerr-Barlow's back but no guarantees after injury

Chiefs halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow is back in contention for an imminent return to the All Blacks. Photo / Sarah Ivey.

Tawera Kerr-Barlow's hard work and dedication in rehabilitating a serious knee injury has paid off with a recall to the All Blacks, but coach Steve Hansen has left open the possibility of naming only two halfbacks for the final World Cup squad.

Hansen will name his 31-player squad in Wellington at the end of the month, and if he were to name only two halfbacks they would almost certainly be Aaron Smith and TJ Perenara. Smith is probably the best halfback in the world and Perenara has shown skill and maturity for both the Hurricanes and All Black this year.

Kerr-Barlow, who has replaced Andy Ellis in the squad after recovering from damaged anterior and cruciate ligaments, plus a hamstring torn off the bone, when playing for the All Blacks in the loss against the Springboks in Johannesburg last year, is now next in line and will get an opportunity to impress Hansen after coming through 55 minutes for Waikato in a pre-season game against North Harbour in Hamilton yesterday.

Hansen didn't elaborate as to what taking two instead of three halfbacks would achieve but it's possible the extra spot would allow him to take Lima Sopoaga, along with his three other first-fives Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett and Colin Slade.He added that Slade had the ability to play halfback in required. Coincidentally, Slade proved it when replacing the injured Kerr-Barlow against the Boks in October last year.

So, while Chiefs No9 Kerr-Barlow, who turns 25 in a fortnight, might get an opportunity against Australia in Sydney on Saturday, or, more likely at Eden Park a week later, there are no guarantees in terms of a World Cup place.

He would also take the field with firm instructions not to try too much.In a reference to some All Blacks being overly anxious to secure their places for a World Cup defence in England starting next month, Hansen said it was important Kerr-Barlow concentrate on his core roles rather than trying to prove anything.

"All he's got to do is play well. It's a fallacy that players have to go out and do something special because if they try and do that they don't," Hansen said. "They force it and it doesn't fit - I think Aaron Smith will tell you that about his performance against South Africa [at Ellis Park last weekend]. He hadn't played for ages, got really excited and he was going to go out and prove to the world how good he was. But everything was a bit scratchy and mistimed and ... it was a great learning curve for him."