Henry opts against roadtest for backup No 8

Graham Henry

WELLINGTON - Among the broad changes to the All Blacks there is one untested theory.

Rodney So'oialo remains the premier choice for No 8 but his understudy is unsighted at test level after the announcement of the side to play the Springboks on Saturday.

In making eight changes, the selectors ignored the chance to use the utility skills of Chris Masoe who was nominated as the backup No 8 once Mose Tuiali'i was culled from the Tri-Nations squad.

Masoe remains a theory, an experiment-in-waiting, as the All Blacks head into their fifth assignment this season.

While alternate players have been used in every other position from front row to fullback - including the return of Reuben Thorne at blindside flanker this weekend - there is a reluctance to test So'oialo's deputy.

It may seem picky but it does seem unusual when the selectors have been working hard to build the depth of their squad, that they have bypassed the chance to try an option for such a vital cog in the 8-9-10 axis of the side.

While Thorne is the fourth player tried at blindside this season, So'oialo and Tuiali'i have been the only players asked to wear the No 8 jersey.

That decision seems at variance with the multiple rotation policy the All Black selectors have used in their search for the ultimate squad to take to the next World Cup.

But the answer probably lies in the health of injured loose forward Sione Lauaki, who is tipped to return for Waikato in the national championship in about three weeks.

If Lauaki can recover the fitness and form he had before damaging his shoulder in the Super 14, he could force his way back into the squad for the final three All Blacks tests this season.

Mils Muliaina has been retained at centre in what is the first time in nine tests the selectors have kept the same centre in consecutive internationals.

The eight All Black discards have all been omitted from Saturday's squad.

Coach Graham Henry said the changes for this Saturday were more extensive than he intended before he watched, live in Brisbane, the Wallabies thrash the Springboks.

He had hinted there would be a more stable selection through the expanded Tri-Nations than he had employed in the opening tests against Ireland and Argentina. That stance has altered after Brisbane, while he also insisted the Boks would be far better in Wellington.

"We might win on Saturday by keeping to the same XV, that might give us an even greater chance, but it might not bring the carrot that we're looking for [World Cup success]," Henry said.

"The major thing is that through the campaigns now until the end of the World Cup, we're a team of 30 players. We've just got to make sure that we keep the 30 on edge and involved.

"If you pick 22 guys and have eight sitting around doing nothing for a campaign ... you're not going to get the unity in the group that you need to win a rugby World Cup."

Jerry Collins was suffering an irritated neck or shoulder while Tony Woodcock was still affected by a shoulder problem he suffered against the Wallabies. Both could have played.

The Springbok squad has been bolstered by the arrival of five-eighths Butch James, who curiously replaces injured utility lock Danie Rossouw.

Coach Jake White will reveal today whether James, Meyer Bosman or the erratic Jaco van der Westhuyzen will guide the backline this weekend.

It is understood Solly Tyibilika will play at openside flanker after Joe van Niekerk's failure to deal with the duties at Brisbane.