Rugby: Door not shut for Donald yet

Stephen Donald has made an impressive return to the ITM CUP. Photo / Getty Images

Resisting the temptation to select Stephen Donald will have been a battle for the All Black selectors.

It's most likely a battle they have won, with Donald not expected to be named in the All Black squad today - missing out to both Aaron Cruden and Colin Slade.

The Waikato five-eighth can consider himself a genuine hard luck story if he does indeed miss out. An All Black in 2008 and 2009, Donald had the unenviable task of backing up Dan Carter.

As jobs go, it's one of the toughest in New Zealand rugby. It's next to impossible to impress; the benchmark is just too high.

But Donald always gave it all he had and in 2008 several of his efforts were particularly valuable, especially in Brisbane when he came off the bench to make a game-changing contribution in the final Tri Nations test.

His return to the ITM Cup has offered a reminder that Donald is a player with something about him. Space opens up around him, he tries the unusual and mostly pulls it off and his basic portfolio ticks all the boxes. At this level, he looks the business. At Super rugby, he's also looked more than capable - comfortable with the pace, the physicality and capable of steering the Chiefs around the field.

This is where temptation rises. He's playing well and, at 26 with 19 tests behind him, he's got experience as well as maturity and a top-class attitude. Reasons to pick him seemingly outweigh those to leave him out.

That's until history and the potential of Slade and Cruden are taken into account. For all his energy, commitment and diligence, Donald never quite looked All Black material.

Maybe he can handle the likes of Italy, Scotland and England, but is he really the sort of player who would settle a nation's nerves if he had to start a World Cup quarter-final against South Africa? Is he good enough to navigate the All Blacks through a Tri Nations?

The answer, based on previous experience, is no. Donald is a gifted footballer up to a point. His polished performances in recent weeks are alluring - they hint of him being a better solution than his younger challengers.

That's not really the case, however. Peter Thorburn, a former All Black selector, holds this view of Donald: "His level to perform consistently well is Super14. He's the sort of guy you would go into battle with. He has been asked to come in at times of crisis and he's done the job.

"He has deserved his All Black caps, no question, but there are flaws in his game. Because he is long limbed, he can look a little cumbersome and he sometimes lacks accuracy in his kicking out of hand.

"He's a guy the coaches would want to hang around. No one wants to see him head offshore. You can trust him to do his job and he is the sort of player who is vital for this country at Super15 level."

Slade and Cruden aren't necessarily more convincing than Donald right now, but the skill of selecting, as Thorburn says, is to see players in one environment and assess their ability to cope in a much tougher one.

The flaws in Donald's game can go undetected in the ITM Cup whereas Slade has a compact kicking style, a cool head under pressure, slick distribution and acceleration that gets him out of trouble.

He's fully equipped to play test football and the selectors are hopeful that, having switched to the Highlanders, Slade will learn how to apply his skill set next year and develop his game management.

They retain similar faith in time Cruden will become a test player capable of influencing the outcome against the best sides.

The purpose of the coming tour is not just to win five tests - it is to better understand the players on the periphery. It is to assess how many of them really could be placed in the biggest games against the best opponents and come through it.

The door isn't shut on Donald, it's just that he'll need to do more, convince he's fixed everything before he can return to test football.