Mehrtens criticises yellow ball

Andrew Mehrtens has added weight to the complaints from the Irish camp about the the yellow adidas ball which is being used in the All Blacks' home Tests this season.

The prolific outhalf, whose Test haul of 935 points is bettered only by Wales' Neil Jenkins and Italy's Diego Dominguez, has created quite a storm hereabouts and incurred the wrath of adidas by describing the ball as "a pig".

"The ball is dead. It doesn't fly and we've told them that till we're blue in the face," said Mehrtens, echoing the sentiments of his Ireland counterparts Ronan O'Gara and David Humphreys, as well as Keith Wood and Eddie O'Sullivan, who called for a standard ball in Test matches at Saturday's post-match press conference.

"The white ball we used in the NPC last year wasn't too bad. They've kept telling us the white and the yellow balls are the same, but they're not," added Mehrtens. " I'm not using that as an excuse but the ball's a pig. It's slippery.

"Ask any of the players. They don't really want to go out on a limb and say it because it looks like you're making excuses.

"I agree there should be a standard ball and this one shouldn't be it. Everyone prefers the Gilbert. They've got all these scientists telling you how good the ball is but, if the players don't like it, you don't get very far."

Having derided its porcine qualities, Mehrtens said: "You have to work really hard to strike it well."

Irish players, who concur that the yellow ball seems to have a smaller sweet spot, maintain you have to garryowen it to touch.

The one Irish player seemingly capable of spiralling this ball is Girvan Dempsey, although Wood's hoofed 50-metre touch kick in Carisbrook was dismissed by Humphreys. Putting the skipper in his place, Humphreys reckoned only those who don't know how to kick can actually kick this ball.