RUGBY NEWS:PIRI WEEPU will start at scrumhalf for the All Blacks against Australia in the Tri-Nations Test in Christchurch on Saturday after reclaiming his place in the side from the injured Jimmy Cowan.
The return of Weepu, relegated to the bench for last week’s 49-28 mauling of the Wallabies in Melbourne after missing part of the build-up because of the birth of his first child, is one of three changes to the New Zealand squad.
“The win at the weekend was very pleasing and the exciting thing is that there is a real desire amongst the players to build on that performance,” said All Blacks coach Graham Henry. “It’s good to be back in Christchurch, there’s a real Test match buzz in the city and the guys are really looking forward to playing in the rebuilt AMI Stadium.”
All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu, who made his debut as a 21-year-old against England in 2003, is set to reach a milestone by playing his 50th Test. Prop Tony Woodcock will play his 67th Test, making him the most capped All Black ever in that position.
Cowan’s rib injury means a place on the bench for uncapped halfback Alby Mathewson, while dynamic Australian-born back Benson Stanley comes in for Israel Dagg among the replacements.
The All Blacks will be chasing their fourth win in four Tri-Nations Tests on Saturday after beating world champions South Africa twice on home soil and claiming their eighth win in a row over Australia last week.
Elsewhere, Scotland coach Andy Robinson has already started devising a plan to beat New Zealand after watching them produce what he classed as one of the greatest performances in the modern game against Australia.
Scotland open their autumn Test series against the All Blacks at Murrayfield on November 13th. Robinson, who was speaking at Pittodrie as the stadium was named as the venue for the final autumn Test against Samoa, feels it was a masterclass for anyone interested in the sport. He said: “For anyone who hasn’t watched their game last Saturday, I recommend they do. As a team, I think that’s one of the best performances from a side in the professional era.
“It was a fantastic performance, right across the board and the way they went about the game. So that’s a huge game for us. We have already started a plan of how we get the beating of it. If they play like that, they will be a very difficult team to beat.”
Robinson is relishing the challenge though and he feels the incentive of facing the All Blacks could fire his players to new heights in the intervening months.
“We want to play against the best in the world,” the former England boss said. “Everyone wants to be in the team, and that’s a real excitement for me – seeing the players perform over the next couple of months and fight their way into the side to play against New Zealand. If we want to perform, all our players will have to be at their best and raise their standards over the coming months.”
Despite his admiration of New Zealand’s most recent display, Robinson is hopeful a November evening in Edinburgh can offer some challenges to the All Blacks.
“When you come over for the autumn internationals, what changes slightly, in Scotland especially, is it’s a little bit colder and wetter. We have to look at how we can perform in these conditions and put pressure on them.”
Scotland face South Africa seven days later before rounding off the series against Samoa.
Joint-captain Chris Cusiter is one player especially looking forward to the final match as he was born in Aberdeen and grew up supporting the stadium hosts. The scrumhalf has missed the only two internationals to be held at Pittodrie – he was on Lions duty when Scotland beat the Barbarians for the first time in 2005 and was recovering from injury as Canada were beaten three years later.
NEW ZEALAND: Mils Muliaina; Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Joe Rokocoko; Daniel Carter, Piri Weepu; Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (capt), Jerome Kaino, Tom Donnelly, Brad Thorn, Owen Franks, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock. Replacements: Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Sam Whitelock, Victor Vito, Alby Mathewson, Aaron Cruden, Benson Stanley.
