All Blacks: Locking up the second row

All Blacks lock Tom Donnelly has grown his game. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Brad Thorn and Tom Donnelly are not so much the odd couple - more the accidental couple.

Not even the All Black selectors, thought their partnership would last as long as it has. They were thrown together in desperation - the All Black lineout had all but disintegrated and they needed someone, anyone, to front against the Wallabies in the final Tri Nations test last year.

Donnelly, an honest, grafting sort who knew his way around the lineout, was given his big chance. At 27 he'd been around, been close to the national set-up without ever quite convincing he could handle a call-up.

Even he felt like that: "When I first came into the team I didn't know whether I was going to be good enough. I was nervous, very anxious."

He came through his debut well. The lineout, so awful in the previous test, was vastly improved, even brave enough to attack a few Wallaby throws.

Despite Donnelly's obvious contribution, he had the feel of a stop-gap solution. He had restored some confidence in the general aerial work, helped them defeat the Wallabies and lift some of the gloom, but a long-term All Black? Hardly.

He'd be found out soon enough - exposed as not quite having the full range of necessary skills and allowed to drift off the scene clutching a few caps as a memento.

There was also the concern that while he provided the aerial portfolio to make up for Thorn's limitations, Donnelly was too similar to his locking partner. Donnelly is aggressive, angular and not afraid to put his head in places where it will get hurt. He's a tight lock, just like Thorn, not a free ranger like Ali Williams who can gallop wide and leap for cross kicks on the touchline.

The All Blacks under Graham Henry have always erred on the side of athleticism in their locks - Williams and Chris Jack being the most obvious partnership to illustrate that desire to have mobile, ball players ahead of muscular, clean-out types.

Those fears have all but gone now. Donnelly has shown an extension to his game no one knew was there. Finding space, carrying the ball and pretending he's a loose forward might not come naturally to Donnelly, but he's more than capable of it.

At Eden Park, he found himself in the clear midway through the second half. His first instinct was to dance on his feet and evade the initial tackle and then attack the space.

When he was eventually put down, he threw a neat pass off the turf to keep the momentum going and cap what was an outstanding performance.

Far from being out of his depth, Donnelly is a test football natural. Each time the challenge gets tougher, he responds with a big game.

The clash in Marseilles at the end of last year was viewed as a game where he might come unstuck. The French have a quality lineout, they aren't gentle at the contact zone and they came into that game on a high after smashing the Springboks into submission two weeks earlier.

Donnelly didn't go missing in action. He manned his trench for the full 80, never giving an inch, never once looking remotely out of his depth.

So here is now, 14 months out from the World Cup in pole position to partner Thorn all the way through to the big event. He's worth backing to make it that far. He is the real deal and his partnership with Thorn, once accidental, is now a deliberate and vital component.

"I really enjoy playing with him," says Thorn of Donnelly. "I enjoyed playing with him in his first test and that has grown. He works hard, he is a smart operator at the lineout, he loves wearing the All Black jersey and he's got that toughness that you need."

What Donnelly also brings is accuracy in the core skills.

Since his arrival, the All Black lineout has enjoyed its best period in years. Since his arrival, the All Blacks have been greatly improved at kick-offs.

It's not a coincidence. Donnelly isn't getting carried away at his newfound ability to play wider and add some extras. "I just focus on my core skills," he says. "That's why I'm here and I guess my problem in the past is that I have been lazy and that has been my downfall - I haven't always done that part of my game as well as I could.

"So in this environment I focus on the lineout, scrums, kick-offs and clean-outs and if I can do anything else then it's an added extra."

There's still an element of uncertainty given off by Donnelly. He gives the impression he's aware his dream could end all too abruptly. He's been nervous when the squads have been named, unsure he would be in. It's almost as if he struggles to believe he could actually be a settled and integral member of the team.

It's apparent now the coaches have been won over. Whatever they first felt about Donnelly last year, they have moved on, convinced they have a player who is far more than a stop-gap.

They have a locking pair that has become the most unlikely partnership and the likes of Williams, Anthony Boric and Jason Eaton are all in danger of being kept out by Donnelly in World Cup year.