All Blacks: Nervous day ahead for young flanker

Sam Cane. Photo / NZ Herald.

The arrival of the SBW initials created intrigue but it might be rivalled by the appearance of Sam Cane.

The young flanker is on the bench tomorrow at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch, one callup shy of an All Black debut as a 20-year-old.

Cane's promotion probably rates as the most interesting aspect of the All Blacks selection and whether they can play well against the Irish once more, to allow the youngster to debut.

If it is a real battle, skipper Richie McCaw and his loose forward colleagues may be needed throughout the contest.

If not, Cane will shed his tracksuit at some stage for injury or as a substitute for one of the senior loosies.

Cane has graduated from the backblocks of Reporoa, a Bay of Plenty settlement bordered by Rerewhakaaitu, Murupura, Ngakura and Waiotapu, to learn the flanker's craft from the great McCaw.

He is the one change on the bench, taking the place of Adam Thomson who is promoted to the starting XV in place of the injured Victor Vito.

"We have stuck with the strategy of having the experienced guys on the track plus a group of young players," coach Steve Hansen said.

"We have also had the strategy we also want the team to grow, not just with one performance.

"We want an up in that performance and after that test match we will reassess where we are at."

The selection blend at Eden Park felt right and they needed another run together. The selectors thought three new caps then was enough and Cane now had the chance to join that group from the bench.

Hansen predicted his side would be better than they were in the first test although the scoreline might not reflect any better performance.

At training this week they had been a lot tidier and they wanted to perform their simple tasks much more clinically.

He had been surprised at how good the All Blacks were last week and that had set a high standard for them to improve on.

"We have had a greater time assembled and you would expect us to be better," Hansen said.

Ireland too would up their game if their comments to the media were anything to go by.

Everybody in the All Blacks was prepared as if they were playing. So Thomson would slip straight into Vito's position and duties while Cane would be similarly ready for his role from the pine. "Too often we have seen players get hurt right at the last minute so the attitude is you have to be ready to play and he [Thomson] did that last week because he was in the 22 and knew he would be off the bench," Hansen said.

"It is all about us making sure we do the things we normally do really, really well and with a genuineness which is required."

Cane admitted to the obvious excitement and nerves he had about tomorrow.

"Once I got named in the 30, my goal was to get into the 22 and that's happened this week so if I get out there, it will be a very special moment."

He had warmed up with the squad last week and that had got his adrenaline pumping before he retired to the stands to watch.

"The guys have been really welcoming and it's made everything really easy so that's awesome."

His only difficulty had been finding some more tickets to buy so a group of family and relatives could attend what should be a special moment for the Cane family.