KEY POINTS:
The Kiwis will be looking for brains as much as bash, especially around the rucks, when they try to upset Australia in a one-off rugby league test in Wellington on Sunday.
The Kiwis have chosen a big pack for the test but new coach Gary Kemble is looking
for than just physical power up front.
"You can have all the aggression you like, but at the end of the day, they are still going to get up to play the ball," he said today.
"To beat Australia, we have to outsmart them, and the biggest area we will have to outsmart them is in the ruck area, because that's where they always win."
The test, which precedes a Kiwis tour of Britain and France, will feature plenty of new blood, with seven debutants in the Kangaroos' 17.
Kemble's first Kiwis squad contain six new caps, including South Sydney's Jeremy Smith in the pivotal halfback slot.
Smith, 26, will form a new halves combination with Bulldog Ben Roberts, 22, who is only marginally more experienced with two tests to his name.
Kemble accepted that he had handed the pair, especially Smith, a tough challenge.
A former Junior Kiwi, New Zealand Maori and New Zealand A representative, Smith has been asked to fill the shoes of 46-test legend Stacey Jones, who retired as a Kiwi at the end of last year's Tri-Nations.
"The No 7 has always been a pretty good jersey to have on your back, regardless of your experience or the great players of the past," Kemble said.
"Jeremy is relishing the challenge and he's a good leader. He's working well with Ben at the moment, on and off the field, which is vital."
The matchup between the respective pairings in the halves will be one of the features of the test.
Australian coach Ricky Stuart also has rookies in those positions.
With Dally M player of the year Johnathan Thurston and regular test skipper Darren Lockyer out with injury, Melbourne's Cooper Cronk and Cronulla's Greg Bird are at halfback and five-eighth respectively.
"Australia are always a tough proposition, no matter who they have out there," Kemble said.
"They could put five or six teams out, so we just have to worry about our own game. If we come together with our gameplan well, we'll have a good chance of success."
Compared with some Kiwis teams of the past, Kemble has relative riches in terms of goalkicking talent with options in Cronulla winger Luke Covell and Parramatta outside back Krisnan Inu.
He said Covell, another of the debutants, was likely to be the first-choice kicker.
That would allow Inu, who won his first cap in this year's Anzac test, to concentrate on his fullback duties.
The Kiwis, who assembled in Auckland last Friday, are due to head to Wellington tomorrow.
- NZPA