By JOHN DRAKE
The Possibles came out on top in the battle of the front-rows last night.
I liked their work as a scrummaging unit, although much of the work at scrum time was a bit messy.
Given that Greg Somerville is our No 1 tighthead prop, most of the selectors' attention would
have been on the loosehead side. Kees Meeuws in the Possibles front-row had a better game than Deacon Manu.
Both are better on the tighthead side, but Manu seemed to struggle with the technical aspects on the loosehead. He and Probables hooker Andrew Hore were split at times by Carl Hayman and Keven Mealamu, which did not help Manu's case.
Of the two, Meeuws has the greater potential to do a job as utility on either side of the scrum, but it is a moot point whether either did enough to satisfy Graham Henry and his co-selectors last night.
In fact, the scrums were more stable once the replacement looseheads, Tony Woodcock and Carl Hoeft, came on half-an-hour from the end.
Hayman deserved a pat on the back. He had a good game, was strong at the lineouts and did nothing wrong at the scrums.
The selectors should name four props today, but finalising that quartet won't be easy. Last night's game would have muddied the waters for the panel rather than made them clearer.
One thing is certain: If Henry and his panel are determined to tackle England up front in the tests they have plenty of work to do. And the emphasis should be put on live scrummaging rather than using the machine.
The All Blacks have a lot of work ahead of them if the scrum is to be competitive against what will be a formidable English unit. They are a bit behind the eight-ball at scrum time. It will be a busy 10 days before the Carisbrook test.
