KEY POINTS:
It took Troy Flavell all of two seconds to finger the source of the Blues' defensive improvement this year. Daniel Braid, reckoned his skipper, had to be given the credit for the Blues having conceded a miserly 105 points after eight rounds.
"Braidy is leading the line and
taking control," said Flavell. The 26-year-old openside has also put real heat on opposition ball this season, has been the key to the Blues continuity and for the first time in his senior career is carrying the ball with venom.
Which is why Braid is back to where he was precisely four years ago - a potential World Cup bolter.
Back in 2003 Braid got through a power of work with the championship-winning Blues but couldn't get a test look-in ahead of Richie McCaw and Marty Holah.
Braid bashed away some more in Auckland colours later in the year and was then dramatically brought in from the cold when All Black coach John Mitchell opted to take three specialist opensides to the World Cup.
The son of former All Black, Gary, came off the bench against Canada, started against Tonga and was then never seen in black again.
No one, probably not even Mitchell, was quite sure that the decision to take three opensides was a smart one and when the inevitable World Cup witch-hunt followed the semifinal exit, Braid's name was continually flagged as a curious selection.
It was proof indeed that failed World Cup campaigns take no prisoners. Braid threw all he had into his two appearances and yet he couldn't persuade a soul that he should ever have been there.
One mind in particular was not for turning and that was Graham Henry's. When Henry took over from Mitchell in 2004, he maintained faith in the combination of McCaw and Holah.
It wasn't a difficult choice. The presence of McCaw doesn't need to be explained and Holah was there because he was an out-and-out ball snaffler. His ability to forage and secure turnover possession was priceless to an All Black side looking to set runners loose against broken defences.
Braid couldn't match McCaw on any level and Holah had a higher nuisance value.
A year later and there was a subtle shift in selection strategy.
Holah fell out of favour as emphasis was also placed on destructive ball-carrying - the selectors taking the view the game was about explosive impact and they needed loose forwards who could not only scrap at the breakdown but win the collisions, too.
Power players were all the rage - men like Chris Masoe who could beat the first tackle and also lead the defensive charge by driving opponents back.
That wasn't really Braid's bag. His game was a mix of everything. He was good, not brilliant, at the breakdown. He was accurate on defence, not destructive, and he was more a passer and linkman than an out-and-out runner.
That was until this year when his game morphed into a more dynamic package that has seen him deliver exactly the sort of football that is of interest to the national selectors.
It's like Flavell says, Braid has gone from infantryman to field general in the last nine weeks.
"I met with Graham Henry this week and told him that Daniel is playing as well as I have seen him play," said North Harbour coach Wayne Pivac who had charge of Braid at Auckland in 2003.
"I think he's probably injury-free for the first time in a long while and he's running freely. He has been one of the leading lights in the defensive effort. He's not just tackling, he's lifting legs and driving men back.
"There might be a perception that Daniel is a bit small but people get hung up with statistics - it's performance that counts. He hits people and spins in the tackle and stays on his feet well. I wouldn't underestimate his importance to the Blues and I would say that next to McCaw, he is the form openside in New Zealand."
By the end of the Super 14 when Masoe is match hardened, Braid will be doing well to still be considered the second-best openside in the country.
But that should not prove fatal to Braid's World Cup prospects.
There might be room for just six loose forwards in the All Black squad of 30.
McCaw, Jerry Collins, Rodney So'oialo are certainties. Masoe, as potential back-up at both openside and No 8, will go. The depth of quality at lock means Flavell will probably be considered as a lock-cum-blindside, leaving maybe one open place.
If Reuben Thorne takes the final berth, what happens if Masoe gets injured? Where is the cover for McCaw? Collins can cover No 8, So'oialo can cover blindside as can Flavell but no Masoe means no genuine back-up openside.
That's just too big a risk and the All Black coaching panel have spent the last three years experimenting to make sure they get to France with every base covered.
Braid was the big surprise in 2003 and he looks odds on to be the big surprise again in 2007.
