Woodcock in doubt for pivotal Tri-Nations clash

Rodney So'oialo (left) and Ali Williams compete in the lineout during an All Blacks training session in Brisbane yesterday. Ross Land / Getty Images

Mystery about the front-row clash remains for the All Blacks' pivotal test against the Wallabies with hints Tony Woodcock is still not a certainty for Saturday's international.

The Wallabies are also reconsidering their strategies with the massive Rodney Blake firming as a chance to return from his ankle injury to oppose Woodcock.

Those ideas circulated yesterday as the All Blacks increased security at their training with coach Graham Henry reminding observers he had been stung by spies when he guided the Lions through Australia in 2001.

He did not suggest any undercover Wallaby work yesterday in Brisbane but as part of their standard precautions, the All Blacks had beefed up the protection of their training ground.

That session done, Henry revealed a side with one change from that which started the opening Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup campaigns against the Wallabies in Christchurch.

"This is the experienced team ... that has played a lot of test matches together and probably been together for almost two years since the end of year tour [in] 2004," he said. "The majority of these guys have played a lot of important test matches together, so I think you could call that the A team."

Lock Ali Williams has replaced Jason Eaton while in the reserves Jimmy Cowan takes over from the injured Piri Weepu in a shock free selection for the All Blacks' first test in a decade against Australia in Brisbane.

Williams has played the majority of All Black tests in the last few years and while Henry conceded the lock had had his "ups and downs" he was the experienced man with Eaton, James Ryan and Greg Rawlinson chasing.

Joe Rokocoko regains his place on the left wing. He needed some chances and was capable of repeating the stellar work he displayed in Sydney and Dunedin last season, said Henry.

Fullback Leon MacDonald was in pain at training yesterday after straining his elbow but Henry was sure he would be ready for his 39th test at Suncorp Stadium.

Similar sentiments were expressed about Woodcock but there was enough ambiguity in Henry's answers to raise the antenna. Then again it may have been a clever ruse or a double-bluff from the All Black supremo.

"He is getting there," the coach said of his loosehead prop who tore a calf this year and then damaged his shoulder against the Wallabies.

"We have picked him on medical advice that he will be right hopefully and he has got through the two training runs and he is getting better each time."

Later, though, Henry had a lengthy pause while he pondered whether Woodcock had come through any scrummaging sessions with his tender shoulder.

After some whispered prompting from forwards coach Steve Hansen, there was a discreet answer about technical work and light scrum hit-outs.

"We have not been avoiding him going to the scrum it is just that because of the game on Saturday we did not want them to get into too much physical contact early in the week," said Henry. "It is nothing to do with Tony Woodcock's injury, it is just the way it has been organised this week."

Across the city, Wallaby coach John Connolly was revisiting his front row choices after initially thinking tighthead prop Blake still needed more rugby after one match in a month.

However he had to balance that against the grilling Guy Shepherdson got from Woodcock in Christchurch and the impact scrum inadequacies had on their 32-12 defeat.

There was no guarantee that scrum dominance would continue but Hansen said there had been improvement in that area since the All Blacks decided to invest heavily in it after the last World Cup.

"It is a little bit like anything. You can't put the second storey on before you put the foundations in and Mike [Cron] had done a heck of a lot of work and the players had as well.