All-time best tag sits well on Mehrtens

By WYNNE GRAY

BIARRITZ - Facts should always be the foundation for an argument, and statistics suggest Andrew Mehrtens is the best first five-eighths the All Blacks have had.

His strike-rate of nearly 15 points a match is the best in the world and has him as New Zealand's highest test points-scorer and the fastest in the history of the game to push past the 700-point mark.

And at 27, he has a few good seasons left in him.

In recent times, Grant Fox may have been more influential in kicking and directing the All Blacks to some tight wins.

He lost fewer times than Mehrtens has in the black jersey.

Fox was a superb organiser, a five-eighths who played the percentages ruthlessly and never lost that foot-on-the-throat drive for success.

But his singular style was perhaps more limited, or not as varied, as the methods Mehrtens brings to the international stage.

And Fox was blessed with more consistent All Black packs. He did not have to improvise as much as Mehrtens has since his debut in 1995.

Debate will continue no matter the merits of both fine players, and there will be those who will argue that Frano Botica or Carlos Spencer would have been better five-eighths had they been given more chances.

But All Black coach Wayne Smith, himself a useful test five-eighths, appreciates the authority, command and influence of Mehrtens.

His work at Stade de France last weekend could not have been better timed.

"'Mehrts' is becoming our nerve-centre, where everyone trusts him to run the game, to create the game," Smith said.

"He has worked hard on the physical aspects, taking the ball forward, and defenders cannot run off him.

"He is putting his body on the line.

"In the Paris test, he made a couple of dabs which checked the tacklers.

"That is what he needed this year and he is a much more complete player."

Earlier this season, when Mehrtens was about to break the All Black test points record, Fox told the Herald that he felt the Cantabrian was making subtle improvements to deal with the changes in the professional game, and that ability indicated his prowess.

If Fox had a deadly boot for goal, position or the line, Mehrtens can match.

Fox may have had the more ice-cool drive, the bloody-minded approach, but he could not compete with Mehrtens' speed or elusive running.

For someone who is keen to keep a perspective and is careful with his words, Smith's praise is huge.

"He has always been a great kicker and always been a genius, but now I think he can be better," was the coach's forecast about Mehrtens.

Fox and Mehrtens are fascinating to interview. Fox was always intense, serious and analytical about his game. His earnestness reflected his driven approach to the sport he loved. He was never short of theories, explanations and discussion.

Mehrtens makes an art-form - in front of his team-mates - of not wanting to talk to the media. He protests often, but get him to the table and it is often left to the media to excuse themselves first.

His quips keep coming, he loves verbal sparring. It is another competition. It was like that the day after the Paris test where Mehrtens had to be reminded he still had to have lunch and get into the best clobber for a visit to the New Zealand Embassy.

Even after the numbing defeat by the Springboks in the World Cup final in 1995, Mehrtens carried on interviews until he almost had to be dragged back to the dressing-room.

He loves to discuss decisions with referees, and had some involved chats with Wayne Erickson in Paris. It began early when he chided Erickson for trying to set demarcation lines during the haka.

"I said, 'you come on when the game starts,"' Mehrtens recalled of his cheeky beginning. It was just the start for a variety of running debates.

So would the five-eighths turn to refereeing after his test career?

"No, no, it is too hard a job. Too much can be done while a referee is looking around and I think it is a bit blurred what the touch judges can and can't do. Too many refs are looking round. They should trust their touchies to patrol the offside line.

"I think the referees' interpretations can be too inconsistent and influential," he added.

What about his play at Paris? How influential was that? "Oh, I did not feel that satisfied because we did not impose ourselves on the game as much as we wanted to.

"I felt a little self-conscious when I had to kick a lot. The result was satisfying, but not exhilarating."

That is Mehrtens. He likes to live on the edge a little. In his golf, he gets more of a buzz from making an outrageous par out of the trees and bunkers than driving straight down the fairway.

His rugby was like that for a time, but he has refined his approach and the All Blacks are enjoying that.

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