Dermody the number one contender

Clarke Dermody hopes his achievements will inspire other Southlanders to stay put. Sandra Mu / Getty Images

As imperturbable as he appears, Clarke Dermody is pleased he's had another week to prepare for his All Black debut.

Otherwise the prop might have been like a duck sitting on the pond, calm above the waterline with his legs working overtime beneath the surface.

Once he was named in the All Blacks after the Super 14 final, Dermody and the squad spent most of last week going through the drills, learning the moves and game plan for tomorrow against Ireland.

He admitted his head was "buzzing" when he left camp for the weekend at his Invercargill home. He was not ready to pull on the black No 1 jersey.

But the respite to swot up his lineout calls, defensive positions and ponder the start of his international career was invaluable.

"We got all the information to process. I have come back, there has been a big lift in intensity and by the end of this week I think things will be building nicely," Dermody said.

Purging his mind of the lineout calls the Highlanders used during a lengthy campaign was one example of the change needed. The new All Black commands had to be instinctive and the extra time for the buildup had been beneficial.

Scrummaging was of less concern. That was the core trade which earned Dermody his test callup with Tony Woodcock injured and others required for alternate All Black duty.

"It is probably the pinnacle of my career but it is only a start," said the 26-year-old. "This is where I want to be but I want to be here for a while."

A mix of genetics, determination and patience have brought the born and bred Southlander to Hamilton for that test debut against Ireland.

Curiously he will oppose John Hayes, whose global travels took him to Invercargill during the 1990s when he played for the Marist club and switched from being a flanker to prop.

"He is a big slab isn't he," Dermody said of his 1.93m, 121kg opponent. "I marked him when the Lions played Southland last year and found him very strong."

Dermody has also played in a variety of positions. As a youngster he was a halfback, then a No 8 until he grew, took up rowing and moved to the front row in the fifth form. Alongside him in the Southland Boys High front row was the Juniors captain Corey Flynn.

The journey to the top had started. Dermody's promise was noted and he considered university in Christchurch or Hamilton but stayed put in Invercargill.

He has no regrets and hopes that All Black selection for himself and Jimmy Cowan will inspire other Southlanders to stay put.

Dermody has played for Southland since 2000 but did not make his Super 14 debut for the Highlanders until 2004. His way was blocked by Carl Hoeft and Joe McDonnell and he agitated about his lack of progress.

"If you had asked a couple of years ago I would not have been so content about serving an apprenticeship with the Highlanders but being behind others like Hoefty, I learned my trade," he said.

"Looking back it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. I have not been thrown in there and my body is holding up well now. In my first few years with Southland I had quite a bit of trouble with my back just because I was so young and not used to the pressure. But now that I have been drip-fed into this level it is paying dividends."

Test colleagues Carl Hayman, Anton Oliver and Carl Hayman concur.

"This season he has played tremendously well and as a front row we got better all season and a lot of that was down to Clarke," said Oliver.

"His results in Super 14 speak for themselves," said Hayman. "He did not have too many troubles over the whole campaign. His introduction has been seamless, he is quiet and just gets on and does it."

"Clarke has a very good temperament. I call him Conan with those arms of his and he can prop no problems,"said Mealamu.

Dermody has inherited the aptitude for rugby which took his uncle Gerald to 120 games for Southland and his father Gus to 51 matches as a lock for the province.

His physique is more like an Olo Brown with his powerful calves and lower torso suited to the rigours of scrummaging.

"It is what I have been given so that is what I do," was his laconic perspective. He has learned a massive amount from Hayman and Oliver in the last few years.

"Their whole work ethic is great. Every scrum they go to they are looking to dominate, you don't go there for a restart or a rest," he said.

"Every week [with the Highlanders' campaign] you knew no one was going to dominate you so it was really good to go in with any attacking frame of mind."

Seven years of top-level rugby and the last few as Southland captain have broadened Dermody's range of experiences. He believes he is better equipped to deal with his debut in front of a 30,000 crowd which will include a group of nine relatives who have travelled north.

"I have played with these guys in a lot of other teams. It is just like being out with your mates again. There are obvious incumbents but it is up to us to really push the others and get the best out of them.

"You don't know how many chances you will get so this Saturday will be a big game. It is a start and you can't look beyond that."