It was more a relief than anything else watching Keven Mealamu zooming about against Argentina, turning the clock back far enough to remind everyone how good he has been, or still might be.
All Blacks don't come more popular than the 118-test hooker Mealamu. While there aren't any polls on this, he is even well liked outside of Auckland which - we Aucklanders are led to believe - is not common. To indicate the sort of respect he is held in behind the scenes, a Blues official told me once that when it came to school visits and the like, Mealamu was always the man most willing. Fame has never tested his humility - you won't meet anyone with a bad word to say about Keven Mealamu. His test career has been on the slide though.
The early arrival of Dane Coles' son turned into a re-birth for Mealamu in Argentina yesterday. He's had a fairly awful test season so far, getting scant time as a permanent replacement and struggling with lineout throwing.
In his first test start of the year, Mealamu tore into the fray like a man refreshed and was bang on with his lineout work. Perhaps a 35-year-old tight forward can get a new lease of life. Maybe Mealamu is more comfortable starting tests these days, rather than trying to conjure up impact performances on slower legs. Whatever the reasons, and with the unheralded Nathan Harris waiting in the wings, Mealamu came out swinging.
