Countdown to AB'S v Wallabies Part Two...

Countdown to AB's v Wallabies Part Two:


McCaw notices an edge at All Blacks training:

An edge at All Black training pleases skipper Richie McCaw ahead of Saturday's test against the Wallabies in Sydney.

Captain Richie McCaw has observed an edge at training as the All Blacks build towards Saturday's rugby test against the Wallabies in Sydney.

McCaw says it is due to having time off to reflect on the opening three games of the Tri-Nations.

" We've addressed some things we haven't got right. I guess we won't know 'til Saturday how that's gone, but I know the guys are a lot more confident that we have got things sorted".

McCaw has also acknowledged the impact a returning Rocky Elsom could have on the Wallabies.

Like Dan Carter for the All Blacks, Australian fans are hoping the tenacious blindside flanker can help turn around the Wallabies fortunes in Sydney.

McCaw says a player like Elsom brings a lot to their team.

"He brings experience to the team. He's a tough footballer and a pretty smart footballer as well and in the times we've played him in the last few years he's always had a big impact on things".

The Wallabies are expecting Elsom to last 80 minutes, despite having not played in three months.

The All Blacks coaching staff spent yesterday afternoon at Sydney Swans AFL training.



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Muralitharan to reinforce Sri Lanka against NZ cricket team in first test,,,

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - World bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan will reinforce Sri Lanka for next week's first test against New Zealand after missing the Pakistan series due to injury.


Muralitharan, who has a record 770 test wickets, recovered from the knee injury and was included in a 15-man squad for the first test at Galle from August 18, Sri Lanka Cricket said.

Wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who also missed the three tests against Pakistan because of a finger injury, was back in the squad for the first of two tests against the Black Caps.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who kept wickets against Pakistan in place of Jayawardene and suffered injuries in the hand and face during the third test, was also named in the squad.

The second test will be played at the Sinhalese sports club in Colombo from August 26.

Sri Lanka squad:
Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Malinda Warnapura, Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath.



Acknowlegements: AFP

Should Dan Carter be rushed back into the All Blacks against the Wallabies

Dan Carter's rapid recall is a no-brainer - or desperation.


Should Dan Carter have been rushed back into the All Blacks

No-brainer or desperation? There will be opposing viewpoints about the merits and speed of Daniel Carter's return to the All Blacks squad but the big question now is whether he will start in the Sydney test in a fortnight.

Carter will play for Canterbury against Waikato on Friday night to bring his tally of games to four since he resumed rugby after six months out of the game recovering from surgery to repair his snapped Achilles tendon.

On that workload, scouts' reports and their own observation, the selectors have picked Carter for a training camp in Auckland tomorrow and the rest of the Tri-Nations campaign.

That rapid recall suggests many things but clearly Carter has passed the criteria espoused recently by Steve Hansen when he suggested that unless the five-eighths was 100 per cent fit "it would be a form of panic I think".

On that medical evidence and the combination of Carter's cautious return and skills which place him in the superstar category, he must be in the starting XV or reserves in Sydney.

If he starts it would not be an indictment of Stephen Donald, more a recognition that Carter is a once in a generation player; or perhaps once in a lifetime, like his fellow Cantabrian and captain, Richie McCaw.

Donald was one of the more consistent players in the messy campaign against the Springboks and goaled eight from nine kicks in Bloemfontein and Durban.

But a fit, sharp Carter will give the All Blacks extra confidence, authority and experience if they use him in Sydney. There would be a parallel with the cult movie Get Carter, where the star sets out to avenge the death of his brother.

Yesterday Carter said one person could not change a team's fortunes. "It is a team performance."

He described the transition to test rugby as a "huge step up from what I have experienced in the last three weeks". "If I get the opportunity that would be great but it would be extremely tough."

Carter would be seen as a talisman by the All Blacks and a feared rival by the Wallabies who are likely to be without their skipper, Stirling Mortlock.

"He is a key member of the All Blacks, has recovered well from his injury and has made a great return to rugby so now is the right time to bring him back into the squad," coach Graham Henry said.

All Blacks backs coach Wayne Smith said Carter should not be seen as "the cavalry riding over the hill to save us". Smith had been surprised at how quickly the experienced pivot has returned to form.

"His ability to break, and the speed that he has got, has been a surprise to me, having seen that sort of injury before."

Carter has not played a test since late last year when he piloted the All Blacks to a 32-6 win against England.

He will begin his next step towards that international stage when he joins an extended All Blacks squad for the training camp tomorrow.

Tamati Ellison and Tom Donnolly will also attend the camp to cover for the injured Isaia Toeava and Bryn Evans while the squad travelling to Sydney will be trimmed to 26 on Saturday.

Toeava has been resting a stress fracture in his foot while Evans has been suffering from lower back and leg pain and withdrew from the weekend's latest NPC round.

Acknowledgements: Wynne Grey, NZ Herald

Dan Carter back for red and blacks...

Dan Carter back for red and blacks...

All Black first five-eighth Dan Carter will make his return to top-level rugby this weekend.

Carter has been named to start for Canterbury in their Air New Zealand Cup opening round clash against North Harbour on Saturday.

Carter has not played a top-level game since injuring his Achilles while playing for Perpignan in France six months ago.

It will be Carter's first game for Canterbury since October 6, 2006, when he played against Wellington in an NPC quarter-final.

He played 80 minutes for Southbridge against Hornby in the Ellesmere sub-union competition last weekend, scoring a try and kicking two conversions in his team's 34-13 victory.

Canterbury
Colin Slade, James Paterson, Tim Bateman, Ryan Crotty, Sean Maitland, Dan Carter, Tyson Keats, Nasi Manu, George Whitelock (captain), Michael Paterson, James Broadhurst, Sam Whitelock, Peter Borlase, Ti'i Paulo, Wyatt Crockett.

Reserves: Will Catherwood, Andrew Olorenshaw, Luke Romano, Matt Todd, Willi Heinz, Stephen Brett, Adam Whitelock.


Acknowledgements: NZ HERALD STAFF

Dexter Dunn it - first in NZ to drive or ride 200 winners in a season...

Teenager Dexter Dunn became the first New Zealand harness racing driver to achieve 200 wins in a season by winning the fifth race at Addington, Christchurch, on Friday night.

Dunn, 19, was left stranded on 199 wins at Cambridge, Waikato, Thursday night after two second placings, and it took him another four attempts last night before guiding hot favourite Smiling Shard to an easy win in a 1950-metre two-year-old pace.

Dunn became the most successful harness driver or thoroughbred jockey in New Zealand history on Tuesday when he overtook jockey Lisa Cropp's record of 197 wins in the 2004-05 season.

Dunn, in only his second full season of driving, won last year's premiership and on June 1 this year beat champion Maurice McKendry's New Zealand record of 161 wins in a season.

He had six wins on the Forbury, Dunedin, card last Tuesday. He'll be pretty good when he grows up?

Many teens his age are still hooning around the main streets of their towns on a Friday or Saturday night in their hotted up cars - not this young guy!

Acknowledgements: NZPA

Whitelock brothers in arms for Canterbury rugby 2009...

Whitelock brothers in arms gearing up for Canterbury Air NZ Cup season.


The Whitelock brothers will all play for Canterbury in this years Air NZ Cup.



New Zealand rugby has many examples of brothers turning out for the same province.

There were five Clarke’s playing for Waikato in the sixties. North Auckland had the Going’s and their famous ‘triple scissors’ move. Auckland had the trio of Zinzan, Robin and Marty Brooke.

This season Canterbury has three Whitelock brothers in its squad, one of them will captain the side.

They are country boys at heart, and as lads on the family farm near Palmerston North, a bit of rough housing was never far away for the Whitelock boys.

George is the oldest at 23 - and after last month's All Black debut against Italy,the openside flanker was this week named as captain of the Canterbury Air New Zealand Cup squad.

“Nine times out of way there'd be some crying somewhere - so we'd stop halfway through,” says George.

Adam, who is a centre, was the first to move to Christchurch, followed by George, and then Sam, a two metre plus lock.

A fourth brother Luke is currently overseas.

They have all played rugby since they were tots.

“Dad played for Manawatu in his early days and mum's dad Nelson Dalziel was an All Black is 53-54,” says George.

Ironically the only Air New Zealand Cup game the three Whitelocks have all played in together was last year's season opener against Manawatu - they lost 25-24.
“It was quite funny - we hope to change that result this year,” says Scott.

The three have played a total 53 games for Canterbury and the Crusaders.

“12 months ago I was playing club rugby, then NPC and Super 14 - so it's been a great 12 months,” says Adam.

George it is agreed is the bossiest, he also says he is the best in the kitchen.

“I'm a big roast fan - done a bit of hunting and that - so I dish it up,” he says.

All three hope they will get plenty of game time this season

The Manawatu rematch is set down for October the ninth.

Acknowledgements:TV3 News

All Blacks 22-16 - Wallabies blew it - lack of discipline...

The Wallabies blew it - big time. This was their best chance in ages to end the 23-year Eden Park hoodoo and once again they suffered from stage fright, squandering an early 10-point lead and wasting several massive opportunities to put the All Blacks away.


The Wallabies cannot blame anyone but themselves for once again leaving Auckland with nothing when they had many chances to get well ahead of a committed but far from impressive New Zealand outfit, only to constantly lose possession in the opposition quarter.

Gift tries were missed through wrong back-line options and nearly every time they found themselves with the upper hand in the All Blacks' quarter someone in the Australian team would lose the ball at the breakdown. Good lead-up work was over and over again ruined by the Wallabies' inability to maintain the pressure.

For the upteenth time since 1986, the Wallabies showed they are not yet mentally up to beating the All Blacks on home soil. They are too easily intimidated. The skills and fitness have improved in the past year but the killer instinct is not there.

And, most importantly, the Wallabies cannot match the All Blacks in keeping their composure or momentum, especially in the second half when the home team picked up the pace. As usual, the Wallabies had great moments but then fluffed their lines at the crucial time.

One of the few Wallabies who did stand up to the tension was fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper, but too many others in the green and gold didn't.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans and his players tried to remain upbeat after the game, but the pain was obvious.

"We didn't take the opportunities and we enabled the All Blacks to play conservative and grind it out," Deans said. "It is frustrating to finish short."

Adding to the pain was that the Wallabies began the Test in spectacular fashion when inside-centre Berrick Barnes showed his deft skills by bluffing the All Blacks defence with a smart weave and a sneaky dummy pass, which opened the way for him to score the opening try in just the fourth minute.

Sadly, the Wallabies were unable to take full advantage of the excellent start. A critical moment occurred in the 17th minute when Barnes had the chance to put Stirling Mortlock into a gap - the captain was charging in on an acute angle - or to throw wide to winger Drew Mitchell, who had no one in front of him.

An Australian try appeared certain, and with it a 14-point lead, but Barnes took the wrong option of going himself and was swamped before throwing a high pass to George Smith, which crashed into his head. The moment was lost. And moments like these win Test matches.

As Barnes said last night: "If I had my time again, I would have passed it."

Another bad moment for Australia came just before half-time when they were unable to sustain the pressure and - after finding themselves perched on the All Blacks' line - lost possession. Again another try-scoring opportunity was wasted.

Nonetheless, the Wallabies kept their composure for most of the first half and were deserving 13-10 leaders at the break after a fast, entertaining and dramatic session.

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen admitted it took time for his side to adjust to the wet and windy weather.

"I think the slow start came down to the conditions," Hansen said. "We didn't really master the conditions that well and we allowed ourselves to be put under pressure at lineout time."

As expected, the breakdown tussle was intense, with Australia having the early ascendancy until All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, who was not sighted in the opening quarter, found his legs and broke the Wallabies defence in the 23rd minute, scoring from a precise pass from outside-centre Conrad Smith.

The South African referee, Craig Joubert, was - as expected - extremely jittery and appeared obsessed in keeping control by repeatedly penalising both sides.

For much of the the second half, Joubert continued to irritate both teams by finding fault with them and the the game degenerated into a penalty goal shoot-out between Giteau and Stephen Donald. At times the Wallabies had no idea why Joubert found fault with tight-head prop Al Baxter at scrum time. But they were also their own worst enemies, repeatedly losing possession in the All Blacks quarter.

NEW ZEALAND 22 (Richard McCaw try Stephen Donald con 5 pens)

AUSTRALIA 16 (Berrick Barnes try Matt Giteau con 3 pens)