Rugby: All Blacks leaders prepare to step up in Ben Smith's absence

All Blacks Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read and Aaron Smith during the All Blacks training session. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Ben Smith's quality as a player and, as is becoming more evident, a leader, means the All Blacks don't start an important test without him if he is fit.

The All Blacks fullback and vice-captain played 12 of his team's 14 tests last year - he missed the end-of-year tour matches against Italy and France - and this second test against the British and Irish Lions will be the first significant one he has missed in a long time.

Coach Steve Hansen believes he is the best No15 in the world and so does his Lions counterpart Warren Gatland. A case could be made for Smith being the best wing in the world too when he plays there.

So in his absence in Wellington, various others will have to step up and make their voices heard. With men such as Sam Whitelock, Sam Cane, Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett in the team that won't be too difficult. All possess special rugby intelligence and are excellent leaders in their own right.

The expected backlash from the Lions after their first-test failure will also serve to focus minds for the men in black at Westpac Stadium. It has the potential to be up several notches in intensity compared with last weekend and it will be important that Israel Dagg, Smith's replacement in the No15 jersey, offers skipper Kieran Read some insight from the back.

Read said there was no official vice-captain in Smith's absence, but that several of his teammates had the capabilities of performing that role.

"I've got a good bunch of men around me, there are probably a few guys putting their hand up," Read said today after the captain's run at the stadium.

"We've got our leaders. Beaudy will step up and drive us around the field, Aaron Smith as well... we've got leaders across the whole forward pack. Izzy has played 50 tests - we need to use his eyes because he can see different things at the back.

"The talk coming out of their camp is that they're definitely going to play a bit more than they did last week so we'll certainly expect that.

"If anything it's going to be more physical on Saturday and we can't wait for that battle.

"There will be some slight changes from them. We've obviously got to be good enough to pick out what they are and try to utilise that to our advantage."

The All Blacks are seeking improvements across the board and in particular their lineout. In Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Jerome Kaino, Cane and Read himself, the All Blacks have one of the best attacking and defensive lineouts in the world and they were disappointed to lose several on their own throw at Eden Park.

"It was an off day for us," Read said. "We certainly pride ourselves on the lineout. We haven't worked any harder, just a bit smarter this week and probably when we look back on it, it was our own errors really - one when they got in front of us and the rest were our own fault."

Told that the Lions players were viewing this test as the biggest of their careers, and asked about whether it compared with a World Cup final, Read said: "I guess it compares in terms of the one-off nature of the game. If they win they're in the series and if we win we win the series... it's pretty special, the fact that it [tour] comes around every 12 years is another factor. That's not lost on our players.

"I certainly know we're pretty excited by the whole challenge of what the Lions have brought. We knew last week we were in a huge test match."