All Blacks: Middle man's stock rises

Conrad Smith is a valuable commodity. Photo / Getty Images

By the end of this tour, the value of Conrad Smith will have appreciated. His importance to the All Blacks becomes ever greater as the athletes around him become bigger, more physical and more direct.

His own size and strength are often not fully appreciated - the image of him, stick-thin at 85kg making his test debut in 2004 is enduring. Yet for all that he has filled out, built the muscular weaponry required to survive the battleground of the international midfield, he's not the same explosive package as the likes of Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, Hosea Gear, Joe Rokocoko and even Isaia Toeava.

The injured Richard Kahui will add more clout to that already impressive list of power athletes - as would Robbie Fruean if he can keep developing the way he has.

The All Blacks have quite an array of ammunition with which to blast holes, but caution has to be preached against going too far down this road.

Few would surely disagree with the assessment of the Wallabies being in possession of the best backline in world rugby. Theirs is an intriguing mix of ball players, finishers and power runners. They are more about brain than they are brawn, and if the current law interpretations have proven anything, it is that skill, manipulation and creativity are commodities that can win games.

This is why Smith is so important - he is the antidote to the exclusive power game. He is the man who will inject subtlety, craft and distribution to a backline that would otherwise be tempted to smash it up the guts and see what happens.

Smith is the defensive orchestrator, the communications man who feeds in the relevant intelligence and keeps those around him where they need to be.

When Nonu and Williams formed their super-powerful midfield at Twickenham, it was tempting to believe the All Blacks just had to wind these two up, then feed them the ball. Dan Carter spoke before the game about the limitations of that approach.

"They [Williams and Nonu] are fantastic ball carriers and big guys that can really get you your go-forward but you can't just give them the ball and say 'go', sort of thing.

"So you still have to be smart the way you strike and making sure guys are running good decoys. The fact they attract defenders to them, you can use them as decoys or as ball carriers. So it provides a lot of options."

There were flashes in London of tactical innovation. There were times when the depiction, the angles of running and sleight of hand were all in unison to create space. Yet, more regularly, the backs looked stilted, their timing not quite there and the passing all over the place. The width didn't come like it has and, in the second half, the only moments of note came through the power of Williams.

What could be concluded and confirmed this morning is that the combination of Nonu at 12 and Williams at 13 is not the one to pursue. The best slot for Williams appears to be second five with Smith outside him.

If the selectors want an alternative midfield combination to their preferred option of Nonu and Smith, then Williams and Smith seems the most logical way to go.

It's not just the better chemistry and diversity of that dynamic that makes it a more compelling combination, there is the individual compatibility with the respective positions that has to be considered.

Centre, particularly at test-match level, is one of the more complex and exposed places on the field. It requires a specialist with experience and Smith, with close to 50 caps, has grafted there for many years, becoming one of the world's best.

Williams, despite his obvious skills and potential, hasn't got that same level of understanding of the role, particularly the defensive component.

"We see him [Williams] as an interesting prospect in a couple of positions," says All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith. "Certainly 12 and 13 are the areas we are targeting.

"We have been working on him being able to run off players, to push out to the next man and work for the team and keep turning up on defence. You can't do that if you keep turning in like he was used to when he played rugby league. "

England didn't have the pace or vision to trouble Williams at centre but the Australians certainly do - as do the Welsh and Irish. With the World Cup now just seven tests away, the conclusion has to be reached sooner rather than later, that Smith is the midfield anchor in this squad.

His qualities are more, not less, valuable in a squad packed with power athletes.