Sivivatu wants to prove his place

Sitiveni Sivivatu is poised to take the field and prove his place this weekend against Ireland. Ross Land / Getty Images

DUBLIN - Sitiveni Sivivatu says he has "worked his butt off" to prove he is worthy of a place among the toughest competition for test positions in world rugby.

After a long wait, he gets his chance to prove it against Ireland here on Sunday (NZT).

The Fijian flyer is poised to take over his cousin Joe Rokocoko's All Blacks No 11 jersey in what could almost a new starting 15 to play Ireland here.

Sivivatu hasn't played for New Zealand since the third test against the Lions in Auckland in July, before calf and knee problems saw him miss the entire Tri-Nations.

The man who stormed through this year's Super 12 and All Blacks trial wasn't as sharp as his former self for Waikato in the NPC as he struggled with the knee injury.

Coach Graham Henry still picked him for the tour and he will get his chance at Lansdowne Rd after the Cardiff heroics of Rico Gear and good support from Rokocoko who had precious few opportunities.

"I was a little bit rusty during NPC but it's good to be back and learning off the guys. There's a lot of competition going on between the guys and it really keeps us honest. I've been working really hard," said Sivivatu who has four tries from four tests.

"Rico, Joe, Dougie (Howlett) -- you just have to work your butt off."

Henry appeared true to his squad rotation promise at training today at a cold, rainswept Westmanstown Sports Centre on the outskirts of the city, with indications that prop John Afoa and Jason Eaton would likely make their debuts.

Star first five-eighth Daniel Carter sat out training with a strapped left ankle, said to be only a minor problem, but leaving the likelihood that Nick Evans could claim the No 10 jersey.

Lock James Ryan also sat out the session with a knee injury suffered on Sunday but Ali Williams trained freely and should be fit to return to test rugby after suffering a minor shoulder injury.

Flanker Richie McCaw will also return and probably take over the captaincy reins from Tana Umaga.

Another to return is second five-eighth Aaron Mauger who sat out Saturday's 41-3 win over Wales.

It will be a happy homecoming for Mauger who played club rugby for Dublin club Suttonians fresh out of school, and made his test debut here in the 40-29 win over Ireland in 2001.

"I've had some pretty memorable moments and it sits up there as one of the best moments in my rugby life," Mauger recalled, having scored a try that day.

Having to potentially fit in between Evans and Ma'a Nonu on Saturday wasn't a problem for Mauger.

Both were relatively new combinations for Mauger but said there was a determination to match the standard set high by the big win over Wales.

"If you look at what potentially can go out there it's not too different in terms of strength to the first backline," Mauger said.

"After the first team got named we all started running together. We pretty much know it all now.

"We're excited but we're aware we can't be complacent. In the past we've had good performances and then let ourselves down the next week and just scraped through."

Henry will name his team early tomorrow (NZT).

- NZPA