All Blacks: McAlister busy getting his head ready

Luke McAlister has been on a heavy training schedule to get him up to speed. Photo / Getty Images

The last time Luke McAlister was asked to wear the No 10 jersey, the All Blacks romped home.

It was a tryfest and an 85-8 World Cup victory against Romania before McAlister was dragged to save him for the quarter-final as the tourists agonised about the fitness of their number one pivot Daniel Carter.

As that story played out and the repercussions were felt throughout New Zealand rugby, McAlister packed his kit and left for a contract with Sale.

He wanted time out, he needed a change, he had to re-evaluate his life. That done, he is back, faster than he or the All Blacks selectors expected because of injuries, and is wearing the famous No 10 strip tonight against Italy in Christchurch.

Stephen Donald's leg strain opened the way but McAlister was going to start this match anyway to get more mileage into his sturdy legs as the Tri-Nations series approaches.

Once more he and Donald have been filling in for Carter, who is on the mend apparently from his Achilles tendon strain, with the vacancy sign still hanging above the role for the upcoming tests against the Wallabies and Springboks. This week is McAlister's turn.

He has started four of his 24 tests at first five-eighths - his impressive debut against the Lions in 2005, twice against Ireland the next season and then against Romania at the 2007 World Cup.

Since then his rugby diet at Sale was mainly at centre because English five-eighths Charlie Hodgson ran the backline. McAlister was the hired help used to fill the other roles.

"I was used where I was needed," he said this week. "I only played five-eighths occasionally."

McAlister got a run at five-eighths for the Barbarians against the Wallabies this month but dismissed that as any indication of how he would cope with the role. The Barbarians were in social mode.

He found few problems readjusting to play five-eighths but the match had nothing like the intensity of his two appearances from the bench during the All Blacks series against France.

"This week has been all about getting everything right in my head," he said.

"Making sure I am prepared going into the game and that I know when to do things, what we have looked at that Italy will bring to the game, where their weaknesses are and making sure that I execute everything in the best possible way."

It sounds simple and so clinical when McAlister delivers his responses in a soft unmodulated tone which contrasts with his expressively loud array of talent on the park.

The 25-year-old has been on a heavy training schedule this month to get him up to speed with the All Black strategies and the style of game they want to pursue this winter.

"Everyone is under pressure but the key is how you deal with that pressure," he said quite matter of factly.

"The nerves will be there. It is all about channelling them. It is exciting, it is enjoyable being in these heat of battle appearances."

He said the pace of the game, even in winter in New Zealand, was much quicker than matches north of the equator.

The season up north was very long, with many tough games like the Heineken Cup, but players had to pace themselves to get through an exhausting, lengthy schedule.

He would be nervous but excited about trying to get teammates Ma'a Nonu and Isaia Toeava into action tonight.

He was looking forward to forging an alliance with halfback Brendon Leonard, on the comeback trail after injury curtailed his career since the last World Cup.

There would also be the challenge of marking up against former league bad boy Craig Gower, who liked to attack the line and test the defences.

"I've just been watching some footage of him," McAlister said. "He is a typical ballplayer who likes to mix it up, he is a key man on their attack because he likes to play flat."