All Blacks: Sleep-deprived new dad Liam Messam gets wake-up call from ABs manager

Liam Messam was apprehensive before being told he was going to Britain. Photo / Getty Images

He was considered one of the unluckiest players to have missed out on the last All Blacks' World Cup squad, so Liam Messam was taking nothing for granted ahead of the naming of this one.

The Chiefs flanker also had other matters to attend to - most notably a week-old son who has left the 31-year-old so sleep deprived he missed the first phone call from All Blacks assistant manager Gilbert Enoka telling him the good news.

"I was trying to catch up on some sleep. Berty kept ringing my phone - I only had a few hours sleep because the newborn has been keeping us up. I had my newborn in my arm and I answered the phone and Berty told me the good news. It was a pretty excited household for a good hour before the sleep deprivation jumped back in."

The hints that coach Steve Hansen had been dropping recently about taking only three locks - rather than four - and thereby taking six, rather than five, loose forwards, did little to ease Messam's anxiety heading into the weekend.

He had only one test to press his claims - the close victory over the Springboks in Johannesburg - and it appeared a cruel history might have been about to repeat.

It would have been tough on the 31-year-old, who has taken a back seat to Jerome Kaino and even Victor Vito more recently. He has been tireless as a leader at the Chiefs and was last year neck and neck with Kaino in the running for the No 6 jersey.

"You get a bit nervous when you haven't had many opportunities but I've had four years to stake a claim and I've worked my arse off to get here," he said.

"It's been a four-year struggle but I'm really pleased and excited to be here.

"I'm excited about the opportunity of going to the World Cup but then I also feel for the boys who missed out. I know they will be hurting and I know exactly what they will be going through. I'm sure those boys will keep their heads up and keep working hard."

Messam said of the anxiety which began to creep into the group as the weeks ticked by before the announcement: "We try our best to block it out and focus on week-in, week-out. In the last test against the Aussies we really just focused on that one game and you could see the damage these boys can do."

The selection of six loose forwards - Messam, Vito, Kaino, Richie McCaw, Sam Cane and Kieran Read - allows the All Blacks to cover what Hansen described as a heavy workload area, but it also gives them mobility on the reserves bench should they decide not to have specialist lock cover there.

The All Blacks want to play the game at pace, that desire is obvious.

"We can cover that fourth locking position with JK [Kaino]," Hansen said. "We've got quality lineout jumpers in Victor and Kieran Read so it does give us an opportunity to put two loosies on the bench, which gives us versatility, helps us with how we want to play late in the game.

"We've two world-class locks in Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock and Luke Romano's not too far behind them either."