Rugby: Ranger the new 'project'

Debutant Rene Ranger is 'an interesting prospect', says Wayne Smith. Photo / Getty Images

Rene Ranger is the latest "project" to cross the All Black coaches' horizon.

The 23-year-old was about to go fishing a week ago when he got a call to join the All Blacks in Hamilton as cover for the injured Israel Dagg and Conrad Smith.

Now Ranger is in the Tri-Nations squad, a survivor of the selection cull which eliminated competition from Zac Guildford, Ben Smith and Luke McAlister.

"He can play centre, he can play in midfield, play wing. He gives us that versatility," assistant coach Wayne Smith said. "He is an interesting prospect. He touched the ball twice, made two linebreaks and six tackles and they were pretty good ones," he said of Ranger's 25 minutes as a substitute at Waikato Stadium.

"He is strong, he's got a bit of x-factor, he needs some development and so he is an interesting prospect," said Smith.

"Rene is a project and we'll see how he comes on. Clearly he can play [wing], he played most of the Super 14 at centre and we see him as either."

The All Blacks last special project was Isaia Toeava, who was taken as a teenager on the 2005 end of year tour, has played 26 tests and is recovering after pelvic surgery last month.

Ranger was called into the All Blacks squad as cover before the opening test against Ireland and then played for the Barbarians against the NZ Maori in Whangarei.

This week Henry spoke about his interest in the rugged utility. The All Black coach said Ranger created and scored tries, had strength and a great deal of skill. He was prone to mistakes, but the All Blacks bosses wanted to check his skills out in the international arena.

"I don't think we need to rein him in at all," said Henry. "If we put boundaries around him it will just affect his play. I think he will become more sophisticated as a player as he gets older and gets better with experience."