KEY POINTS:
Coach Graham Henry wants his All Blacks players to snap out of their rugby World Cup "tunnel vision", which he believes may have impacted on their Super 14 performances.
Soon after naming his first 30-man squad for the season, Henry called on his players to focus on the
pending two tests against France followed by the one-off clash with Canada and Tri-Nations series.
The World Cup was still more than 16 weeks off - yet appeared to have already been a distraction for some, in the eyes of Henry, contributing to New Zealand's mixed return in the Super 14.
"Maybe their heads are somewhere else. Maybe their heads are in the All Black camp and thinking about the big games later on," Henry said. "That would be a bit of a concern because I think they need to be in the now.
"But it's very easy to say and harder to do. These are young guys who have been preparing for this [World Cup] for a long time."
Henry also indicated he would get the players out of some lazy habits that had crept into some of the New Zealand play over the past four months. Chief among them is concentrating on the skilful aspects of rugby rather than brute strength.
"Making sure they play the game properly and without too many mistakes is more important than just having a physical presence," he said. "There were some signs that that wasn't always the case during the Super 14 so there's work to be done on individual skills and individual concentration as well.
"Physical presence gives you a background - but it doesn't negate the fact that you have to play with accuracy. And that is a concern."
Twenty of the 22-strong squad came out of Henry's 22-player conditioning group, with only injured forwards Greg Somerville and Jason Eaton unavailable. The other 10 were fairly predictable, with the exception of new caps Brendon Leonard and John Schwalger. Halfback Leonard's livewire form for the Chiefs saw him edge out Andrew Ellis and Jimmy Cowan, while Hurricanes prop Schwalger was a shock selection over Clarke Dermody and John Afoa.
Leonard's Chiefs team were the only New Zealand Super 14 team to finish with winning momentum and, amid his joy at selection, the speedy No 9 acknowledged some of his teammates who had missed national honours. "A few of the guys would have gone close to making the squad so I was a bit disappointed not to have more of my mates here," he said.
"Their time will come if they keep playing as they are."
One is rampaging No 8 Sione Lauaki, who underwent surgery on both knees a week ago and will be sidelined for more than a month.
Lauaki and Crusaders prop Somerville, who is recovering from a serious achilles injury, will both be monitored closely and could yet force their way into the 30-strong World Cup squad named on July 22.
Henry spoke to Lauaki about the merits of an operation at this stage of the season rather than trying to play on in pain.
"He played exceptionally well in the last couple of games after being reasonably quiet in the build-up to those two games," Henry said. "He will get opportunities with the Junior All Blacks later in their campaign."
An under-strength France play tests in Auckland on June 2 and Wellington on June 9 before Canada meet the All Blacks in Hamilton a week later.
Henry downplayed claims this was a lightweight start to the season.
"The French will be staunch opposition, I don't think we can underestimate their ability," he said.
"We have looked at the team that has been selected and are impressed with the players that are on that list. We would be naive to think they are going to be easy beats."
- NZPA