All Blacks: Sivivatu delivers a reminder he can be Speedy

Sitiveni Sivivatu of the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images

I think he was the best player on the field in the first half. Coach Graham HenryByline1From the opening minutes Sitiveni Sivivatu looked interested.

It's not an impression he has conveyed much this season. Not enough for the All Black selectors but you can bet when they subbed him after 50 minutes' work on Carisbrook last night, they felt an inner glow about Sivivatu.

Had they not been in the public bubble of the coaches' box, they might have given each other a high five as they sent down the message to bring the speedster off.

Graham Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen knew the languid speedster was a matchwinner, but they needed to see some intent, more work and greater effort.

They had counselled him and pleaded with him earlier in the year. Not so long ago they gave him a bigger burst and kept him as an extra in the squad.

He was picked to start at Carisbrook last night because of injuries to Hosea Gear, Isaia Toeava, Israel Dagg and Cory Jane. It was almost as if Sivivatu toyed with the timing.

From the opening minutes he was a changed player. He chased where he would have ambled, he roamed the field where he would have stopped.

The man was involved. It almost looked like the All Black plays were designed to test him.

Jimmy Cowan box kicked to his wing, possession was often shifted back to the left flank down the shortside.

Sivivatu was into it all.

The harder he worked the more he looked like the world-class wing he can be.

He was the most consistent All Black in an inconsistent team performance.

"I think he was the best player on the field in the first half," coach Henry said pointedly afterwards.

Sivivatu and Zac Guildford look as though they are locked in a race to join Gear and Toeava as wings in the World Cup squad.

Senior man Sivivatu got first crack on his favoured left flank last night and made the most of a variety of chances including the first touchdown of the most important season under Henry's command.

The wing ran, he harried, he showed a deft kick and neat offload under pressure to create a try for Andrew Hore.

When he was subbed, Guildford switched wings, but action on that flank dried up.

Not that he did anything wrong. He kept his width, chased hard, defended the high ball strongly and concentrated. But it was tough.

Guildford knows he is under some heat, he can see the hot breath from Sivivatu, he will pray for another shot next weekend against the Boks.

That verdict will be one of the fascinating selections for the opening Tri-Nations test against the Springboks next weekend.