Ellison accepts breaks in search for bigtime

It takes a special player to try and carve through an opposition midfield by throwing a dummy pass to himself.

Carlos Spencer famously did so a few times and yesterday at Carisbrook, Tamati Ellison gave it a try and so nearly wangled his way into open space.

It was a sign that the 23-year-old Ellison has built his confidence these past few weeks after at last enjoying some extended game time. He spent most of his time with the Hurricanes warming the bench or making cameo roles at fullback.

It made him a hard player to assess. Thankfully for Ellison, the All Black selectors saw enough in him to believe he was worthy of trying out at the next level. He has repaid that faith and possibly a little more. Ellison was the pick of the Junior All Black backs during the Pacific Five Nations.

He was strong enough to break defences and skilled enough to break them with the weight and accuracy of his passing. He showed a good range of kicking options and in the final minutes of the game against Japan, he showed a deft touch when hedropped the ball on to his foot and dinked a cute little grubber that deserved a better finish than Sosene Anesi's.

"It was kind of hard to gauge how I went really," he said. "I was happy enough just getting a start on the field. It has been good to start a few games."

Ellison, then, will leave the evaluation to everyone else. His focus will now shift to the Air New Zealand Cup in which he hopes to continue to earn more game time with Wellington.

What his future holds after that, he can't say. There is a school of thought that says he should think about seeing if he could get in the Super 14 draft. The Hurricanes have oodles of quality in their midfield - Tana Umaga, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Tane Tuipulotu.

That abundance of talent was the reason Ellison struggled to feature for the Hurricanes. Certainly both the Highlanders and Blues would find room for him and be able to utilise him. The Highlanders have lost Seilala Mapusua and desperately need a creative midfield influence, while the Blues would probably like to use Luke McAlister as a second-five but need a quality option at 10 for that to happen.

But Ellison is settled where he is and the Canes come with a major attraction. "Game time is obviously an issue for me but there is nowhere in the country where you can easily pick up game time. I enjoyed it with the Hurricanes this season. It was great being able to work with a guy like Tana - there are not many mentors who have his level of experience or ability.

"I am always being asked about what position I want to play. At this stage I just want to get on the field. I suppose, though, I prefer the five-eighths. I had a bit of time at second-five for New Zealand under-19s and Luke McAlister played at first five.

"It is not a huge focus for me right now. I am happy to be playing in any position."