All Blacks: Rokocoko knows he's blown it

The Rocket Man and Jerome Kaino play a game of soccer during an All Blacks recovery session in Dublin. Photo / Getty Images

Joe Rokocoko does not need to be told twice that he blew an opportunity to cement a World Cup spot, saying he now sits in the "second tier" of New Zealand wings.

In the week leading up to the ill-fated Bledisloe Cup test in Hong Kong, the All Black coaches told the squad that good performances would be rewarded with continuity of selection and that playing opportunities for some would be limited.

Rokocoko had the inside running, being selected to start against Australia and England.

That's where the good news ended for Rokocoko.

"There were a few errors there," he said of his flawed Twickenham performance. "It just snowballed and I got frustrated.

"I had a good talk with the coaches the following week. They could see I was trying too hard to make up for the last mistake. Every time I do that I tend to over-run the play and I start to get the passes behind me because I'm too eager to hit the ball with pace."

While Rokocoko was afflicted with a case of the yips, Hosea Gear was having a blinder on the other flank.

Rokocoko lost his place to Isaia Toeava for the Scotland test at Murrayfield and, with Cory Jane recovering in time to play Ireland, the Aucklander suddenly found himself down the pecking order.

With no utility value, there was no spot on the bench either.

"I'm not the only one who's frustrated and wants to play. Every player that comes on this tour wants to get a lot of game time.

"We all want to play but we all had a clear message before the game in Hong Kong that there would be limited opportunities."

Rokocoko knows he has good rugby left in him. By the time you read this, he will know whether he will be involved in the test against Wales this weekend that could mark a third grand slam in Graham Henry's tenure, though the team is not officially named until tomorrow.

He's honest enough to know that if he is selected, it will be a gesture of appreciation for long service rather than an honest appraisal of his form.

Not that he wouldn't jump at the chance to play. The irony is that, until that Twickenham game, Rokocoko was enjoying a largely error-free year for the All Black after a difficult 2009 campaign.

"That's the thing. I want to finish the year well. I don't want to finish with the feeling: 'What did I do on that tour? Pretty much nothing.'

"That's what I'm feeling at the moment."

The Super 15 shapes as the last opportunity for Rokocoko to convince Henry he is worthy of a spot in a 30-man World Cup squad.

"I'm in second place at the moment, a second-tier wing, so I'm going to be working hard to get back to that top spot."

Already he seems resigned to the fact that this will be his last end-of-year tour.

"Brad Thorn's been talking about it. It's in the back of a few of the guys' minds. There's no end-of-year tour next year and who knows what the future holds.

"You've got to enjoy every single moment of being in this environment, of being in a touring All Black team."

Hooker Keven Mealamu will have the opportunity to rejoin the team after sitting out his suspension, reduced from four weeks to two, after striking England captain Lewis Moody with his head at Twickenham.

Proving that he's probably a better player than spectator, Mealamu said he forgot to video a couple of scrums at Lansdowne Rd, as was his task for the day, because he was too involved in what was going on around him.

He insisted the Moody incident was just a clean-out that went wrong.