All Blacks: Weepu the late 'revelation'

Piri Weepu (L) is greeted by Kiwi league player Benji Marshal at training this week. Photo / Getty Images

A coach's report on Piri Weepu would be a fascinating dossier.

The All Black halfback is a potpourri of characteristics, a player with a huge range of skills which intersect with his emotions to create varying levels of performance.

He accepts that he sometimes sulks when things don't go his way, but says he's learned to fight much harder than he did in the past.

Talks with the All Black panel have helped, and becoming a father to Kiera seven weeks ago has also mellowed the All Black halfback. His fitness has improved, so too his play.

It wasn't like that midway through the Super 14. Coach Colin Cooper dropped him to the Hurricanes bench and Weepu's All Black chances were sliding.

But he got through a few personal issues, reset his goals and gathered a support group who would help push him towards those targets.

It was close. He made the All Blacks as much on reputation as anything. Then the coaches saw his effort. They knew all about his skills, but they wanted more dedication. Weepu made the deal.

"He has been impressive," assistant Wayne Smith said. "He showed he wants to be there and he needs to keep going. There are lots of things involved in helping him reach his potential. He has to work hard, he's been great, he's been a revelation really."

Weepu has shared the starting duties with Jimmy Cowan this season and gets his third Tri-Nations start tonight in Sydney.

He's part of a heavy Hurricanes influence in the backline and like young five-eighths Aaron Cruden will get confidence from that familiarity.

He also got a boost when the All Blacks coaches came calling about his Super 14 form slump.

"Everything had to change for me then and as soon as I got the nod I knew I was in the right frame of mind to be positive with everything that I do," he said.

"I had to pick myself up and turn my season round rather than playing the way I'd been playing and dropping my lip.

"Talking to the coaches turned everything round for myself and I knew that I could be involved in this team as long as I got my attitude right.

"I had a few issues I needed to deal with outside rugby and those I dealt with and everything came right for myself then."

He and Cowan have job-shared, the only differences in job description, joked Weepu, being the warm-up routines while the reserve also got a chance to survey the action and trends.

He started the last test against the Wallabies in Christchurch, hoped to get this one in Sydney too but doesn't want to increase the pressure on himself before kickoff.

Weepu's life was in better balance, coach Graham Henry felt.

"He's a gifted footballer and can see things others can't. But it's a continual challenge for him to be in good shape, more than most of the others in the group."

But Weepu had made huge advances since being picked in June, Henry said, and needed to push on to the end-of-year tour.

One of tonight's tasks will be to nurture Cruden. Not babysit, but assist when he wants and needs help.

They worked a lot this week on calls, timing and the nuances of the All Blacks style.

"He has to learn how to play the game somehow so we can't mollycoddle him too much and this will be a great day for him as long as we give him the guidance to play well," Weepu said. "Everyone makes mistakes. We can't get down on ourselves, we just have to brush it off and move on to the next job.

"We can't dwell on that sort of thing throughout a game otherwise your game will unravel so it is just trying to build confidence and get around him and give him a boost."

Confidence is a large part of Weepu's rollercoaster rugby career.

If he and his teammates are in sync with the game plan it boosts his form, it gives him the impetus to express himself and ride out the rough patches that occur in every test.

Claiming a Tri-Nations clean sweep tonight would be a special target. The All Blacks had shown the world a new way of adapting to the game's cluster of laws.

Their winning run had created a strong team environment but they needed to complete that Tri-Nations campaign.

Weepu will face off against Will Genia, the inventive Wallaby halfback who has added extra dimensions to his side.

He and Quade Cooper were a sparky combination, said Weepu, with attacking instincts to test any defences. "Will is going to be a major threat and being able to contain him at source would help.

"If you shut him down he might go into his shell, we can then build pressure on him but we need to watch him closely."