Rugby: All Blacks lift Waikato

With impeccable timing, just when they need to press down on the accelerator, Waikato are bolstered by the return of three All Blacks for their game against North Harbour in Hamilton tomorrow night.

Halfback Brendon Leonard, first five-eighths Stephen Donald and hooker Aled de Malmanche are all named in the starting XV as Waikato eye a rails run to make the Air New Zealand Cup semifinals at the end of next month.

Waikato have limped along without being able to get any consistency into their work. But they have won three of their last four games and look capable of putting in a decent late surge.

Their run home is good - away to Otago, then home to Northland and Auckland. Waikato sit eighth on the table, four points away from the top four.

Prop Nathan White returns to link arms with de Malmanche up front, having recovered from a back strain.

Centre Jackson Willison, at one point written off for the season after breaking a wrist bone in the final pre-season match, gets his first start.

North Harbour have made three changes from the side which beat Counties-Manukau last week.

Skipper Anthony Tuitavake is out with a recurrence of his pelvic injury. His spot goes to Ken Pisi. Lock James King returns from a rib injury and halfback Chris Smylie, with a hamstring niggle, makes way for Matt France.

Harbour's situation is simpler in a sense than Waikato's. They are 12th, nine points off the semifinals and almost certainly dead in playoff terms.

Their only option is five-point wins from hereon in, and hope a heap of other results go their way.