All Blacks' leap of faith

Jason Eaton (left) and Greg Rawlinson work on getting the All Black lineout right at Trusts Stadium, Waitakere, this week. Jeff Brass / Getty Images

Jason Eaton's report card does not stack up as the panacea for the All Blacks' lineout ailments.

But the solitary change in the pack is composed about Saturday's test and confident advice from Robin Brooke will work for the All Blacks and the defence of their Tri-Nations title.

Eaton has been the solitary forward change in the Bledisloe Cup duels with the Wallabies, swapping with Ali Williams in the most competitive contest generated by the All Blacks rotation policy.

A hasty glance at the statistics from Eaton's Bledisloe Cup duty in Christchurch - then as a sub in Brisbane - are grim; 66 minutes of action and not one lineout success.

"It's not that flash, is it," Eaton concurred, "but I have only been thrown one ball [at Brisbane] and I lost that.

"I was not called once at Christchurch but that was okay because the way the options were set up it created space for other jumpers."

Eaton has emerged as one of the more serious threats to the incumbents through the All Blacks' rotation policy. His duel with Ali Williams at lock has added some spice to those player switches.

"About this time last year I was just playing my natural game with my ability, now I have been able to use all the specialist All Black coaches," said Eaton.

"In the past I just jumped in the lineout but I have been working a lot on speed and technique since then. If we do the basics right against the Wallabies, mixed in with some deception, then we should be okay.

"It has been pretty obvious the focus for us has been on the lineouts and if we win our ball that will go a long way towards helping us get a result."

Extra help at a camp in Christchurch last week came from Brooke, whose 62-test All Black career ended after the 1999 World Cup. Getting specifics out of Brooke or the All Blacks about that tuition is a lost cause but it was not a case of old lineout tactics being taught to a new era of jumpers.

"It was just a different view, a different set of eyes," said Eaton. "In his day he used speed and simplicity and that has not changed."

The Wallabies had a range of lineout choices while Dan Vickerman, Nathan Sharpe and Rocky Elsom also regularly attacked the All Black throws. They had been a pest, especially at Brisbane.

Meanwhile Wallaby coach John Connolly was satisfied he and his staff had devised some tactics for Eden Park to halt an appalling away record in the past five years.

In 17 tests against the Big Four - New Zealand, South Africa, France and England - the Wallabies had accrued a solitary victory.

"It's a damning statistic no doubt," Connolly told the Daily Telegraph, Sydney.

But he refused to concede his team was heading for a weekend shutout and their first Bledisloe Cup blackwash since 1997.

"There's a belief in this side that we can win," Connolly added. "We were very disappointed in Christchurch with the opportunities we gave them. In Brisbane anyone that saw that game knows we created chances at the end. We just failed to put them away.

"There's certainly no fear there. The New Zealanders are a great team. But if we play well, if we turn up, we can win it.

"Our lineout will definitely stand up. While we don't expect to dominate the scrum, we expect to win our own ball. We've also learned more about how to play them at the breakdown."

The Wallabies have not beaten the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1986 nor won in New Zealand since 2001.

* Midfielder Aaron Mauger took a limited part in training yesterday because of a groin strain but was certain he would recover for Saturday.