All Blacks: Nonu back in spotlight

Ma'a Nonu's midfield busts can set a match alight. Photo / Greg Bowker

Ma'a Nonu is a magnet for scrutiny, from his damaging midfield busts to his colour-filled dreadlocks.

There is always an edge to his play and in many ways he is a barometer for the All Blacks' success.

That gauge will be on high alert at Eden Park tonight as the All Blacks start the Tri-Nations intent on halting the Springboks' winning hold in their last three meetings.

Nonu's rugby diet has been slim, just 70 minutes of club rugby since he damaged a posterior ligament in his left knee two months ago.

However the All Black selectors have gone for experience in this test, reuniting Nonu and his regular centre partner Conrad Smith who missed the last international.

That duo is not yet the blend which made Frank Bunce and Walter Little so potent for the All Blacks but they are mighty effective.

They have the collective experience of 81 tests and multi-seasons with the Hurricanes, where they have tuned into each others' characteristics, nuances and foibles.

Under the gun, in the heat of battle tonight at Eden Park, those instincts on attack and defence can mean the difference in such an intense challenge.

The All Black selectors certainly think so while the Springboks have taken a different tack.

They have broken their long-standing Jean de Villiers-Jaques Fourie partnership, bringing in the challenging Wynand Olivier and shunting de Villiers to the wing after his return from a season with Munster.

But the All Blacks have gone back to their combination which has become automatic in the last few seasons as Nonu and Smith have grown into their international careers.

It has been a slow process - an uneasy journey at times for the pair who have battled injury, consistency and the selectors' uncertainty.

Yet they have forged an alliance which has answered the inquests at international level. The All Blacks need that type of response and more tonight if they are to overcome the South African challenge.

Nothing Nonu, Smith and five-eighths Daniel Carter can offer is likely to be effective without a massive effort from the All Black forwards.

New Zealand need to keep the game flowing, to take some sting out of the Springbok challenge and test their resolve and reactions after the long-haul flight from South Africa.

The hosts should also fancy their time in the scrum where they should expect Tony Woodcock and Owen Franks to make some inroads against their propping opposites.

That is as long as referee Alan Lewis is sharp and has some help from his sideline assistants.

The lineouts may be another issue while general play can be a bit of a lottery because of individual errors.

The Springbok style should not be a mystery. The basic plan will be to use set-piece ball crashing into midfield through Olivier to set up avenues for damaging runners like Pierre Spies.

Around that strategy the canny Morne Steyn will pound possession downfield or skyward, depending on where his side collects possession, and ask Bryan Habana and de Villiers to exert the chasing heat.

The Boks will look for mistakes, search for penalties and ask Steyn to click over the points.

How much they go to rolling mauls or using shortside attacks will depend on the flow of the game and the resistance they receive.

How will the All Blacks try to crack their losing sequence?

Set-piece authority has to be non-negotiable. Any quivers in the lineout will bring the Boks in for the kill and other driving plays.

Ball movement, recycled possession, invention and interplay have to be the All Blacks best weapons. They have to believe they are better athletes and deserve their IRB rating as the best side in the world.

It may go against their instincts but the All Blacks also have to be practical about this start to the Tri-Nations.

They have been burned playing too much frothy football inside their own half against the Springboks and they cannot afford those errors tonight.

It may not be exciting, it may not suit their psyche, but the All Blacks have to approach this test as if it were the World Cup final. Those games are won by teams who make the least errors, sides who build pressure and never relent.

If the All Blacks are to win tonight, they have to show they have regained the power of mind to match the will of their bodies.