Henry: Kelleher could be a starter

SYDNEY - All Black coach Graham Henry yesterday did his best to inject some subterfuge into the Bledisloe Cup series, suggesting there was still a chance halfback Byron Kelleher could play on Saturday.

On his arrival with the All Blacks at Sydney, Henry refused to rule out Kelleher and labelled both he and captain Tana Umaga as 50-50 prospects for the test side.
"Until we get through today and check things tomorrow we won't know how bad they are," Henry said.

But both players looked doubtful, Kelleher after he was left groggy and dazed when hit in a high tackle in the 22-16 opening defeat in the Tri-Nations against the Springboks, while Umaga was walking with his damaged left ankle encased in a special protective boot.

Henry gave little away in a cursory interview before he was whisked away by officials, but it is understood Kelleher will not play for several weeks because of his head injury, but will stay with the squad.

The call-up for Bay of Plenty halfback Kevin Senio reinforced that theory with the 27-year-old at Sydney airport yesterday to meet his new team-mates.

Umaga, however, may be bracketed for the test if the medical staff believe there is a chance he can recover for the opening Bledisloe Cup test which doubles as another Tri-Nations international.

The All Blacks will be desperate to retain their captain, especially for his defence against the Wallabies' backline rearrangement with the beefy midfield pairing of Morgan Turinui and Stirling Mortlock.

If Umaga is scratched, Conrad Smith or Mils Muliaina will shift to centre depending on the fitness of left wing Sitiveni Sivivatu.

After their long journey yesterday the All Blacks went to a park near their inner-city hotel for a light-hearted game of cricket.

There was optimism from the Wallabies yesterday that fullback Chris Latham would overcome his latest hamstring twinge.

He reportedly ran lightly at the team base at Coffs Harbour and will undergo a fitness test tomorrow before the final team selection.

If Latham is ruled out, wing Drew Mitchell will be shifted to fullback with Mark Gerrard or Clyde Rathbone joining the starting XV.

Coach Eddie Jones is expected to persevere with his twin flankers George Smith and Phil Waugh while No 8 David Lyons will return after being a late withdrawal because of an infected hand from the test against the Boks.

Jones expects the All Blacks to recover quickly from their opening Tri-Nations defeat and long flight from South Africa.

"Every game you play them in, it doesn't matter whether they have won or lost their previous test, they go out and play to their very best," he said yesterday.

Jones said Sunday's test showed what a very good side South Africa were.

"I thought South Africa played very well. I saw where [All Blacks coach] Graham Henry said the All Blacks were pretty rusty.

"Certainly I think they were shocked, even though they did a lot of planning, [by] that line speed and ferocity of the Springboks' defence."

He said it was a feeling the Wallabies had also experienced.

New Zealand and Australia had problems securing their own lineout ball against South Africa and Jones attributed that to the outstanding play of Victor Matfield.

"He is perhaps the difference between the sides in terms of the lineout. Take him out of their lineout and you would have a completely different picture."

- additional reporting NZPA