KEY POINTS:
Looseforward Chris Masoe has won an All Black reprieve in a side which will be captained for the first time by Rodney So'oialo when the Tri-Nations series starts against the Springboks on Saturday in Wellington.
Masoe's return was an expected reaction to the injury exit of skipper Richie McCaw, but the introduction of Chiefs lock Kevin O'Neill as standby for the damaged Ali Williams was the surprise.
The 26-year-old O'Neill has been chosen ahead of Jason Eaton and Ross Filipo, who have both been All Black locks and played at the weekend for the New Zealand Maori.
The All Blacks believe Williams will recover from his ankle injury to play his 50th test against the Springboks but have drafted the 2.01m O'Neill into the squad to back up Williams, Brad Thorn and Anthony Boric, who have been with the squad since the start of the test series.
Coach Graham Henry said Masoe's rugged aggression and experience were the ingredients needed to combat the Springboks in successive tests in Wellington then Dunedin before the selectors would re-evaluate their combinations for the following internationals against the Wallabies.
"Chris' experience against South Africa and knowledge of our systems mean he's the right choice," Henry said.
The squad had a number of players in their first All Blacks campaign and bringing another youngster in at this stage probably wasn't the right thing to do. Masoe was experienced in all three looseforward roles.
"But we may want to take a different approach against Australia. We'll look at form and fitness and the team's plan again in a couple of weeks," Henry said.
Masoe played for his club side in Wellington on Saturday to reaffirm his fitness and national selector Steve Hansen joined the crowd to check on the form of the 20-test flanker.
Henry yesterday confirmed a number of player choices in the All Blacks but refused to reveal which looseforward position new skipper So'oialo would occupy when the Springboks try to repeat their feat of 10 years ago when they last won in New Zealand. The coach, though, was effusive about So'oialo's leadership. "Rodney leads with actions more than words," Henry said. "He has the respect of everyone in the team and plenty of experience as captain of the Hurricanes."
This international has any number of fascinating elements, with the All Blacks defending an unbeaten run of 29 domestic test victories while World Cup holders the Springboks have not lost in 13 tests since they were thrashed 33-6 last year by the All Blacks in Christchurch.
Chasing a rare away win against the All Blacks was a major factor in Boks skipper John Smit pushing on with his test career. He came close in 2004 and the next year when the All Blacks scored late tries to seal victories in Christchurch and Dunedin.
The Boks have beaten the All Blacks in South Africa in three of the past four years but have not managed a win in New Zealand since their 13-3 victory at Athletic Park in 1998.
Smit, who joins the side from his French club, wants to replicate the winning mentality on Saturday that makes them so formidable at home.
"We have to have that mentality when we go on the road," he said in a recent interview. "We've done well in Europe but have always struggled in Australia and New Zealand.
"In the past few years we came close on two occasions to beating the All Blacks in New Zealand. We were 90 seconds away in Christchurch and four minutes away in Dunedin. I know we can win there because our players are good enough."
Meanwhile, Henry said senior lock Williams was confident his injured ankle would get through this week but as a precaution, O'Neill had been brought in as cover.
"I guess when we start scrummaging and really going through the physical needs of the week, how he [Williams] responds to that will be pretty interesting, but I'm confident he'll be fine."
O'Neill had been very efficient with the basics of lineouts and restarts during the Super 14 and that had earned him promotion to the All Black training squad and now the test group.
