Holah set for role on bench

DURBAN - Marty Holah, a surprise omission from the early stages of the Lions series, may find himself back on the bench in the All Blacks' Tri-Nations opener against South Africa at Cape Town on Sunday.

Coach Graham Henry, who names his team today, admitted he was considering including a specialist openside as cover for Richie McCaw, after watching the Springboks' 22-16 defeat of the Wallabies at Pretoria last weekend.

Although the Springboks closed out a tight contest, their loose trio were consistently beaten at the breakdown by Wallabies George Smith and Phil Waugh.

The pair dominated Juan Smith, Joe Van Niekerk and Jacque Cronje to such an extent that Springboks coach Jake White is expected to bring in genuine openside Schalk Burger for a head-to-head battle with McCaw.

Henry opted for bruising Chiefs flanker Sione Lauaki as his loose forward cover during the Lions series, although Holah, who was relegated to the Junior All Blacks' tour of Australia, saw game time off the bench in the third test after McCaw's absence through injury caused a reshuffle.

While Henry was cagey when asked if Holah was a candidate for the bench, he had no doubt Burger would be selected on his home ground to tussle with McCaw.

The International Rugby Board's player of the year in 2004, Burger has been relegated to a bench role after a form slump and on-field discipline problems, but Henry intimated that Burger was a necessity for the Springboks to compete at the breakdown.

- NZPA